A new daily record for vehicles leaving Turkey is was improved during the week at the Kapakule checkpoint in Edirne, it became clear yesterday.
On August 16, 5,445 vehicles left the Kapakule border crossing for the Kapitan Andreevo point in Bulgaria, from where they transit to the EU countries. This flow broke the all-time record, calculated "Maritsa".
The huge number of cars are mainly owned by Turkish workers living in Europe. As the holiday season ends and the new school year approaches, thousands end their vacations and leave to return to the countries where they live.
On the Turkish side, it is reported that additional measures have been taken by the Governor of Edirne, the local police department and the Ministry of Customs and Trade in Ankara to ensure that those traveling to Europe via Kapukule feel comfortable at the border.< /p>
There has been a personnel increase. All platforms are open. Thanks to the measures taken, this record in passenger flow became possible.
On the same day, the number of vehicles crossing the 5 border points in the European part of Turkey, with Bulgaria and Greece also broke a record and reached 13,944 vehicles that crossed the border.
While the number of passenger vehicles that left the country through the border points in the Thrace region in 2023 was 393 thousand, this year it increased to 398 thousand.
The number of passengers increased from 1 million 628 thousand to 1 million 661 thousand through 5 border points in the region during the same period in 2023.
The number is expected to increase as summer traffic continues.
Records were broken in entry figures as well as exit statistics.
While last year 2 million 71 thousand passengers entered Turkey through all border points in Thrace (Kapakule, Hamzabeyli, Ipsala, Pazarkule and Derekoy), this year 2 million 157 thousand passengers entered the country. The number of passengers entering through the Kapakule border gate, which was 1 million 200 thousand last year, reached 1 million 302 thousand this year.
Mehmet Ekim, who spent his vacation in Trabzon and is returning to France, mentioned that the waiting time at the border crossings has decreased significantly.
He thanked the staff. “We are making the transition faster than previous years. Of course, the sluggishness on the Bulgarian side, which continues, also affects us, he noted.