Complete Gotthard Tunnel traffic forecast for 2026: monthly congestion calendar, wait time estimator, best travel times and live traffic updates. Check before you drive.
The Gotthard Tunnel (A2, Göschenen–Airolo) is the busiest Alpine tunnel in Europe. With over 6 million vehicles per year, queues can reach 15 km on peak days — that's over 2 hours of waiting.
This guide provides the complete traffic forecast for 2026: monthly calendar, wait time formula, and optimal travel times to help you avoid Gotthard queues.
Gotthard Live combines three data sources:
Wait time formula used:
| Queue (km) | Estimated wait |
| 0–2 km | 0–20 min |
| 3–5 km | 33–55 min |
| 6–8 km | 69–92 min |
| 9+ km | 108+ min |
Rule of thumb: every kilometre of queue means roughly 11–12 minutes of waiting.
| Date | Direction | Forecast | Wait |
| 3–4 Apr (Good Friday / Easter Saturday) | ⬇️ South | 🔴 Critical | 90–150 min |
| 6 Apr (Easter Monday) | ⬆️ North | 🟠 High | 60–90 min |
| 18–19 Apr | ↕️ Both | 🟢 Normal | <20 min |
April tip: avoid Easter weekend entirely. Tuesday 7 April is the best day to head south.
| Date | Direction | Forecast | Wait |
| 1 May (Labour Day) | ⬇️ South | 🟠 Moderate | 30–50 min |
| 21 May (Ascension) | ↕️ Both | 🟠 High | 50–80 min |
| 23–24 May (Whitsun) | ↕️ Both | 🔴 Critical | 80–120 min |
| 25 May (Whit Monday) | ⬆️ North | 🟠 High | 60–90 min |
July: every weekend is red.
| Date | Forecast | Wait |
| 3–5 Jul | 🔴 High | 90–120 min |
| 10–12 Jul | 🔴 Critical | 100–140 min |
| 17–19 Jul | 🔴 Critical | 100–140 min |
| 24–26 Jul | 🔴 Maximum | 120–160 min |
| 31 Jul–2 Aug | 🔴🔴 Maximum | 150+ min |
August: absolute peak around 1 August (Swiss National Day) and 14–16 August (Italian Ferragosto).
| Date | Forecast | Note |
| 1–2 Aug | 🔴🔴 CRITICAL | Worst day of the year |
| 7–9 Aug | 🔴 Maximum | 12–15 km queues |
| 14–16 Aug | 🔴 Maximum | Northbound Ferragosto returns |
| 21–23 Aug | 🔴 High | Late summer returns |
These two months offer the best conditions of the year: less than 30% of summer traffic, queues under 2 km almost every day. Highly recommended for stress-free Alpine crossings.
From 7 km of queuing (≈ 80+ min wait), alternatives become worthwhile:
| Alternative | Extra km | Extra time (no queue) | Recommended from |
| San Bernardino (A13) | +28 km | +30 min | Queue > 60 min |
| Gotthard Pass (road) | 0 km | +35 min | Summer, good weather |
| Verlad SBB train | 0 km | +45 min | Families, queue > 90 min |
| Simplon | +95 km | +90 min | Last resort |
Check the live traffic status on Gotthard Live before switching routes — it could save you hours.
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