site.bta18-kilometre Truck Tailback at Bulgarian-Turkish Border

Istanbul, September 17 (BTA exclusive by Nahide Deniz) - There is an 18-kilometre tailback of TIR trucks on the Turkish side, at the Kapikule border checkpoint opposite Kapitan Andreevo. Turkish customs officials say there are no bottlenecks on their side. They claim that tailbacks form due to slow clearance by Bulgarian customs officers at Kapitan Andreevo and Lessovo as there are fewer of them on weekends.

Things are similar at the other checkpoint on the Turkish-Bulgarian border, Hamzabeyli, where the tailback is about 10 km long, said the Thrace (Edirne) Regional Directorate of Customs and Trade.

The tailbacks are expected to continue all day on Sunday.

Angered Turkish road transport companies have urged the two countries' institutions to solve the problem. It is compounded by the fact that many Turkish trucks set off on Friday to cross into Bulgarian territory early on Monday.

The lines of TIR trucks are expected to get on their way on Monday afternoon.