More than 6.6 million people will travel in and out of Hong Kong through land, sea and air control points during the coming Labour Day Golden Week festive period, up 8.3% over last year's holiday period, the Immigration Department says.

About 4.92 million people are expected to pass through the land boundary control points, an increase of 7.9% over the same period last year.

The peak period will fall between April 27 and May 7 when about 2.96 million passengers - an average of 269,000 daily - will pass through Lo Wu control point. The figure represents 60% of the total estimated cross-boundary passenger traffic, an increase of 5.5% over the corresponding period last year.

April 30 daily traffic the highest

The number of departing passengers at Lo Wu control point is expected to reach a peak of 180,000 on April 30, while the peak for arrivals will be on May 1, with 180,000 people returning to Hong Kong. The highest daily traffic is expected to reach 310,000 on April 30.

Passenger traffic at Lok Ma Chau control point will also be heavy with a forecast of about 1.65 million passengers, a daily average of 150,000 and an increase of 11.7% over the same period last year.

The peak of departures is expected to be on April 28, with about 98,000 people leaving for the Mainland. The number of arriving passengers is expected to reach a peak of 104,000 on May 1.

To cope with the anticipated traffic, the Immigration Department has suspended leave applications from staff working at control points and has arranged for extra officers to be posted at the airport, sea and land boundary checkpoints during the holiday period through internal deployment. Additional security guards will be deployed at Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau control points to provide crowd-management support. 

The department and the Shenzhen authorities will also strengthen their co-operation and liaison to ensure smooth and orderly passenger traffic across the boundary. If necessary, Lo Wu control point will implement the contra-flow scheme to relieve congestion.

Joint command centre to be set up

A joint command centre will be set up at Lo Wu control point to oversee traffic conditions. Contingency measures have also been drawn up to handle any untoward incidents.

To encourage people to use the automated passenger clearance system, two "meeting places" have been set up at Lo Wu control point. Those passengers travelling together but using different channels for immigration clearance can easily regroup after clearance formalities.

Hong Kong residents aged 11 or above holding permanent smart identity cards may make use of the 246 e-channels in operation.

Tour operators have been asked to avoid using shuttle buses to convey tour groups via Lok Ma Chau from April 28 to May 7. They are also advised to use separate coaches for conveying group members and transit passengers to expedite passenger flow.