At the Ukrainian-Polish border, queues may form again

At the Ukrainian-Polish border, queues may form again

Currently, there are no queues at the Ukrainian-Polish border; however, closer to the New Year (December 29-31), passenger traffic may increase significantly. To avoid delays, it is recommended to plan trips in advance and monitor updates.

This is reported by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS). In the Lviv region, passenger traffic through the Ukrainian-Polish border significantly decreased after the pre-Christmas rush.

As of December 25, border guards do not record queues at checkpoints – vehicles and citizens freely cross the border both for entry and exit. During December 24-25, at the Ukrainian-Polish border:

• 61,770 citizens were processed;
• 9,633 vehicles were processed.

The statistics indicate a preference for entry over exit. This may be related to the return of Ukrainians home for the holidays after temporary stays abroad. After the pre-Christmas rush, when the number of people wishing to cross the border increased by 25%, the situation stabilized. There are no queues at checkpoints, which greatly facilitates travel for citizens.

When queues may occur again

Despite the current decrease in passenger traffic, border guards predict possible activity increases closer to the New Year. The main factors that could cause queues are:

• a surge of citizens returning to Ukraine for celebrations;
• the activity of those going abroad before the holidays or planning winter trips;
• weather conditions: in winter, worsening weather can slow down the border crossing process.

"On the eve of the New Year, passenger traffic traditionally increases," noted SBGS representatives. To avoid delays during border crossing, citizens are recommended to:

• check the situation at checkpoints in real-time through official SBGS channels, such as Telegram or Facebook;
• plan trips considering the projected increase in passenger traffic closer to the holiday dates;
• use less congested checkpoints if possible.