Gotthard tunnel queues at Easter 2027

Easter is early in 2027: Maundy Thursday is 25 March and Easter Monday is 29 March. Southbound, queues at the Gotthard usually start to build from the weekend before and are at their worst from Wednesday afternoon to Good Friday. Northbound, the wave of returning traffic arrives later in the day on Easter Sunday and carries on through Easter Monday. If you can, set off early in Holy Week and drive back on the morning of Easter Sunday or after Easter Monday.

Easter 2027 at a glance

Maundy Thursday is 25 March, Good Friday 26 March, Easter Sunday 28 March and Easter Monday 29 March 2027. In 2026, the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) was already expecting considerable delays at the Gotthard on Maundy Thursday.

In 2027, the Easter school holidays are widely staggered. Schools in Basel, Lucerne and southern Germany are on holiday over Easter, while those in Bern and the city of Zurich only break up in April. Holiday traffic is therefore spread over several weekends:

Southbound: queues at Göschenen from Wednesday afternoon

For Easter 2026, FEDRO wrote that Easter holiday traffic usually starts the weekend before the public holidays. It expected considerable delays and long waits from early Wednesday afternoon, on Maundy Thursday and on Good Friday, above all in front of the north portal of the Gotthard road tunnel and on the San Bernardino route.

Applied to 2027, that means the weekend of 20 and 21 March, when the holidays begin in Basel and Bavaria, then the afternoon of 24 March, and 25 and 26 March. Our Gotthard tunnel southbound page shows how long the queue at Göschenen is right now.

On days like these, the Canton of Uri has its own rules. In 2026, the Uri queue management working group put five measures in place from 28 March until the Gotthard Pass opened. Once the queue reached three kilometres, the Göschenen and Wassen slip roads stayed closed southbound, and the Göschenen slip road then only opened four times a day for 15 minutes. Once it reached eight kilometres, a speed limit of 80 km/h applied between Altdorf and Amsteg, and the exits at Erstfeld and Amsteg were metered depending on how busy the cantonal road was.

So taking the cantonal road as a shortcut gets you nowhere: from Amsteg, the only way south is the A2. Whether the measures will apply in the same form in 2027 was not yet known when this page was written.

Northbound: the return journey from Easter Sunday

According to FEDRO, the wave of returning traffic is likely to start later in the day on Easter Sunday, and for Easter Monday it also expected heavy return traffic in 2026. The queue then builds up in front of Airolo: see our Gotthard tunnel northbound page.

In the week after Easter, FEDRO says there are usually still queues from time to time, and for the Friday to Sunday after Easter it again expected more traffic in 2026. In 2027, that weekend, 3 and 4 April, coincides with the end of the holidays in Basel, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

When is the best time to set off at Easter?

Outward journey: the earlier in Holy Week, the better. In the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) congestion calendar for 2025, the Monday and Tuesday before Easter were still rated as normal traffic southbound, but from Wednesday as very heavy traffic with a wait of more than an hour and a half. In 2027 the holidays in Basel and Bavaria already begin the weekend before, so expect more traffic than on a normal weekday on Monday and Tuesday too. If you have to travel on Thursday or Friday, you are usually better off early in the morning than from midday onwards.

Return journey: as FEDRO expects the wave to start only later in the day on Easter Sunday, there is a good case for driving back on Sunday morning. If you have more time off, drive back on a weekday after Easter Monday and avoid the weekend of 3 and 4 April.

Driving at night is not always an option in spring: in March and April, FEDRO closes the tunnel on some nights for maintenance. For the dates, see Gotthard closures.

Avoiding the queue: what is realistic at Easter

The Gotthard Pass is not an option at Easter. It is usually closed for winter from November to May; in 2026 it opened on 8 May.

That leaves the San Bernardino route (A13). However, FEDRO mentions it in the same breath as the Gotthard: over Easter, both north–south routes are particularly affected. A detour therefore only pays off if you decide early, not once you are already in the queue before Erstfeld. The trade-offs are covered on our Avoiding the Gotthard page.

And if there is a queue, stay on the motorway: FEDRO expressly asks drivers not to divert onto cantonal and local roads, because the diverted traffic puts a strain on the villages along the motorways.

The live situation at Easter

Whether the forecast holds will only become clear on the day. The live traffic situation shows the queue length and delay in each direction, updated every 5 minutes from FEDRO’s traffic reports. For the other busy travel days up to summer 2027, see the Gotthard traffic forecast.

Easter traffic: frequently asked questions

When are the Gotthard tunnel queues worst at Easter?

Southbound, from the weekend before Easter and above all from Wednesday afternoon to Good Friday: in 2027, from the afternoon of 24 March to 26 March. Northbound, the wave of returning traffic starts later in the day on Easter Sunday (28 March) and continues on Easter Monday (29 March). The weekend of 3 and 4 April is busy again, when the holidays end in Basel, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

Which day is best for driving south through the Gotthard at Easter?

The earlier in Holy Week, the better. In the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) congestion calendar for 2025, the Monday and Tuesday before Easter were still rated as normal traffic southbound, and from Wednesday as very heavy traffic with a wait of more than an hour and a half. In 2027 the holidays in Basel and Bavaria begin the weekend before, so expect more traffic than on a normal weekday on Monday and Tuesday too. If you have to travel on Thursday or Friday, early morning is usually better than from midday.

Is the Gotthard Pass open at Easter?

No. The pass is usually closed for winter from November to May; in 2026 it opened on 8 May. At Easter the only real alternative is the San Bernardino route (A13), and according to the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) it is also particularly affected over Easter.

Can I get round the Easter queue on the cantonal road through Uri?

No. From Amsteg, the only way south is the A2. In 2026, from 28 March until the Gotthard Pass opened, the Göschenen and Wassen slip roads stayed closed southbound once the queue reached three kilometres, and the Göschenen slip road only opened four times a day for 15 minutes. The Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) also asks drivers to stay on the motorway when there is a queue.

Information provided without guarantee. Official information from FEDRO and the cantonal police always takes precedence.