Travel-data service Gotthard Live released its real-time forecast for the long weekend of 25–27 September 2026, predicting heavy congestion in and around Switzerland’s Gotthard road tunnel. As of 15:14 CET on Sunday, the portal already showed a four-kilometre queue at the Airolo (south) portal—about 44 minutes of waiting time—and expects the line to peak at seven kilometres between 15:00 and 18:00 as holidaymakers head north. The Gotthard is the backbone of the north-south corridor linking Germany to Italy. When queues exceed four kilometres, Federal Roads Office (ASTRA) models estimate direct economic losses of CHF 90 000 per hour due to delivery delays, driver overtime and missed flight connections. According to the Swiss Touring Club (TCS), each additional kilometre of queue adds roughly nine minutes to journey time. For companies moving time-critical cargo or shuttling technicians across the Alps, alternative routing via the A13 San Bernardino tunnel—around 50 minutes longer in free-flow traffic—can prevent late-arrival penalties. Gotthard Live advises south-bound travellers to depart before 06:30 on Saturday or after 18:00, and north-bound drivers to leave Ticino before noon on Sunday. Longer-term, the recurring bottlenecks underscore the need for the second Gotthard road tube, now under construction and scheduled to open in 2032. Until then, ASTRA will continue to impose overnight closures—next scheduled for 28–29 September, 20:00–05:00—for maintenance work, further constraining capacity. Mobility managers should push travellers to book flexible tickets, build buffer time into appointments north of the Alps and monitor live feeds. Companies operating shuttle buses are reminded that drivers must adhere to EU/Swiss tachograph rest rules even when stuck in stationary traffic, so split-shift planning is essential on peak weekends.
Source: Gotthard Live
