The Immigration Department today said it is estimated that around 9.03 million passengers will pass through Hong Kong's sea, land and air control points during the Ching Ming and Easter festive period from April 1 to 10.

About 83.5% of these travellers are expected to pass through land boundary control points (BCPs). The number of outbound and inbound passengers using such BCPs will be relatively higher on April 7 and 10, with around 522,000 and 519,000 passengers respectively.

Lo Wu Control Point will be the busiest, with an estimated 2.2 million passengers passing through during the festive period.

Passenger traffic at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge control points will also be heavy, with a daily average forecast of about 147,000 and 138,000 passengers respectively.

To cope with the anticipated heavy traffic, the department has minimised leave for frontline officers so as to arrange for flexible deployment of manpower and the operation of extra clearance counters and kiosks. Additional security guards will also be deployed to provide crowd management support.

Furthermore, the department will establish close communication with the Mainland frontier inspection authorities, and set up a joint command centre at Lo Wu Control Point together with Police, Customs and the Mass Transit Railway Corporation to closely monitor the passenger traffic conditions. Appropriate traffic diversion plans will be adopted when necessary to ensure a smooth passenger flow.

Travellers are advised to plan their trips in advance and avoid making their journeys during busy times.

They may check the expected busy times at respective BCPs on the department's website and take a look at the estimated waiting times at all land BCPs via its mobile app.