HarbourFront Terminal Sees Crowds & Long Queues On CNY Eve, Ferries Allegedly Delayed For 1 Hour
Now that borders have been thrown open after the pandemic, people are travelling for the Chinese New Year (CNY) again.
Whether it’s foreigners going home for the holidays, or Singaporeans leaving home for a holiday, you can be sure our checkpoints will be busy.
That also goes for the HarbourFront Ferry Terminal, with social media images showing it packed with crowds on CNY Eve.
Source: Rano Ermansyah on Facebook
Excaberating the situation, ferries were said to have been delayed by as long as one hour.
Crowds toting luggage at HarbourFront terminal on 21 Jan
A Facebook video posted on Saturday (21 Jan) by Mr Rano Ermansyah, an Indonesian going home, showed people toting luggage waiting in long queues at the Singapore Cruise Centre’s HarbourFront terminal.
The gurgling of a baby could be heard in the video.
An irritated Mr Ermansyah said that thanks to the crowds, he was “sandwiching, squeezing and wrestling” his way home.
Source: Rano Ermansyah on Facebook
Another netizen, who was taking a ferry to Batam, posted on TikTok that same morning with clip that showed the enormity of the crowd, which stretched all the way to the back of the terminal lobby.
Source: @denskietv26 on TikTok
Children, elderly people and some people in wheelchairs could be seen among the crowd. Many of them were pushing or pulling large luggage trolleys.
Source: @denskietv26 on TikTok
Most people were seen waiting in never-ending queues.
Source: @denskietv26 on TikTok
Ferries allegedly delayed by almost 1 hour
Worse still, all the ferries were allegedly delayed by almost one hour — which would have either caused the crowd to form or exacerbated the situation.
This was revealed by a netizen who said she was inside the crowd shown in the TikTok clip.
Source: @denskietv26 on TikTok
As if that wasn’t enough, after surviving the queues at HarbourFront, another queue awaited them when they reached the terminal on the other side, according to the OP.
Source: @denskietv26 on TikTok
Thankfully, they arrived at their destination safely, he said.
CNY crowds not unexpected
The crowds leaving Singapore on CNY Eve were not unexpected, with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) warning of heavy traffic at land checkpoints over CNY.
And so this proved accurate, with the Causeway jam stretching to four hours on Saturday (21 Jan).
S’pore-Johor Causeway Jam May Stretch Up To 4 Hours As Travellers Cross Borders For CNY
Perhaps, however, warnings should’ve been issued for those leaving Singapore via boat as well, considering the crowds at HarbourFront.
Hopefully, every traveller managed to get to wherever they wanted to go safely.
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Featured image adapted from @denskietv26 on TikTok and Rano Ermansyah on Facebook.
