Immigration Clearance System Disruption Causes Massive Delays & Confusion at Checkpoints

Two days after DBS’ technical issue, another technical problem has hit Singapore.

Due to an issue with the immigration clearance system, travellers are likely to experience delays at certain land and air checkpoints.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) initially informed the public about the disruption on Facebook at 11:28 am, expressing regret for any inconvenience caused and requesting travelers’ patience and understanding.

At 12:03 pm, the ICA advised people to postpone all non-essential travel and assured them that official updates would be posted on its Facebook page.

A Facebook user claimed that it’s “very chaotic at T4 and very little communication.”

Meanwhile, people who were entering Singapore through the Woodlands or Tuas Checkpoints by land reported long waiting times without any relief in sight.

A number of individuals in a Facebook group for Malaysians who work in Singapore posted photos of lengthy vehicle queues on the Causeway and people in the immigration hall.

Several people mentioned that they had been waiting for approximately an hour, and one person claimed that the automated counters were out of order.

At Changi Airport, long lines had also formed, with large crowds of individuals waiting to access departure gates.

Due to the system malfunction, immigration officers had to manually call out people whose flights were close to departing.