Good Friday traffic at the northern portal of Switzerland’s Gotthard road tunnel reached a 21-kilometre standstill on 4 April, leaving holiday-makers bound for Italy or Ticino waiting up to 3½ hours. The Swiss Touring Club (TCS) confirmed the jam—one of the worst Easter congestions since 2022—via its real-time X feed.
The Gotthard is Europe’s principal north-south artery for both leisure travellers and freight.
A perfect storm of sunny ski-finale weather, staggered school holidays across German-speaking cantons, and early tourist demand for Lake Como combined to overwhelm the A2 motorway.
Secondary passes were unusable: the high-altitude Gotthard Pass remains snow-bound until June, and the San-Bernardino route also saw growing tailbacks.
Operational counter-measures included traffic-light metering at Göschenen, mobile patrols, and radio advisories urging drivers to detour via Lötschberg rail shuttles or the A13.
![Easter Getaway Gridlock: Gotthard Tunnel Queue Stretches 21 km]()
Authorities reiterated fines of up to CHF 200 for motorists using emergency lanes and reminded travellers to carry water and fuel reserves.
If your road trip through Switzerland eventually extends beyond the Schengen Area—or if guests from abroad will join you—sorting out entry documents is just as crucial as beating the Gotthard queue. VisaHQ simplifies Swiss and onward visa processing with an intuitive online platform, live status updates and expert support; details are available at https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/
Business implications: Supply-chain managers moving just-in-time cargo between northern Europe and Lombardy reported delays of up to six hours, forcing some logistics firms to reroute via France’s Mont-Blanc tunnel at extra cost.
Cross-border commuters returning on Easter Monday could face similar snarls, prompting HR departments to allow flexible start times.
Long-term fix? Construction of the second Gotthard road tube, slated to open in 2032, aims to provide maintenance redundancy but will not increase peak-hour capacity under current political agreements. Until then, digital queue-management apps and staggered holiday calendars remain Switzerland’s main tools against holiday gridlock.
The Gotthard is Europe’s principal north-south artery for both leisure travellers and freight.
A perfect storm of sunny ski-finale weather, staggered school holidays across German-speaking cantons, and early tourist demand for Lake Como combined to overwhelm the A2 motorway.
Secondary passes were unusable: the high-altitude Gotthard Pass remains snow-bound until June, and the San-Bernardino route also saw growing tailbacks.
Operational counter-measures included traffic-light metering at Göschenen, mobile patrols, and radio advisories urging drivers to detour via Lötschberg rail shuttles or the A13.
Authorities reiterated fines of up to CHF 200 for motorists using emergency lanes and reminded travellers to carry water and fuel reserves.
If your road trip through Switzerland eventually extends beyond the Schengen Area—or if guests from abroad will join you—sorting out entry documents is just as crucial as beating the Gotthard queue. VisaHQ simplifies Swiss and onward visa processing with an intuitive online platform, live status updates and expert support; details are available at https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/
Business implications: Supply-chain managers moving just-in-time cargo between northern Europe and Lombardy reported delays of up to six hours, forcing some logistics firms to reroute via France’s Mont-Blanc tunnel at extra cost.
Cross-border commuters returning on Easter Monday could face similar snarls, prompting HR departments to allow flexible start times.
Long-term fix? Construction of the second Gotthard road tube, slated to open in 2032, aims to provide maintenance redundancy but will not increase peak-hour capacity under current political agreements. Until then, digital queue-management apps and staggered holiday calendars remain Switzerland’s main tools against holiday gridlock.
