Pretoria – The long Easter holiday saw over 400 000 travellers entering and leaving South Africa, according to the Home Affair’s Movement Control System (MCS).
The system recorded 468 126 incoming and outgoing travellers from Thursday, 21 until Sunday 24, April. This included a total of 173 657 arrivals and a further 294 469 departures.
The country’s ports of entry which recorded the highest traveler volumes were OR Tambo International Airport with 34 739 arrivals and 48 726 departures, Beit Bridge border in Limpopo with 16 912 arrivals and 41 989 departures, Lebombo with 13 236 arrivals and 34 071 departures, Maseru Bridge with 17 169 arrivals and 27 962 departures, Ficksburg with 16 574 arrivals and 28 369 departures and Oshoek 12 851 with arrivals and 19 834 departures.
As people return from their holiday, the Department of Home Affairs has put contingency measures in place to deal with the high volumes, including the deployment of additional staff to high volume ports of entry while the Lebombo, Oshoek and Groblersburg ports of entry will operate on a 24 hour basis until 3 May.
Home Affairs Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has given the assurance that all travelers entering or departing from South Africa will be processed expeditiously by immigration officials so they can return to their homes following their Easter long weekend. – Nthambeleni Gabara, BuaNews
