The Brenner Pass is one of the most important transport routes in Europe. Image: APA/APA
Residents will demonstrate at the Brenner Pass on Saturday, May 30th and ensure a complete closure. There is a risk of traffic chaos. This is what you want to know about it.
May 29, 2026, 10:57 amMay 29, 2026, 10:57 am
On Saturday, May 30th, the Brenner Pass will be completely closed due to a demonstration. The closure to the south not only affects the A13 motorway between the Schönberg toll booth (Tyrol) and the top of the pass in both directions, but it also applies to the alternative roads B182 and L38. The closure applies from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and for trucks even from 9 a.m.
Return traffic from Italy to Germany is also affected. The A22 motorway heading north will also be closed.
There is a risk of chaos on one of the most important transport routes in Europe, especially for traffic between Germany and Italy. Impacts as far away as Switzerland cannot be ruled out.
Everything you want to know about it.
Where is the Brenner Pass – and why is it so important?
The Brenner Pass, or Brenner for short, is, together with the Gotthard, the Simplon and the Mont Cenis, one of the most important transport routes in Europe – both for tourism and for the transport of goods. It connects the Austrian Tyrol with the Italian Bolzano and South Tyrol and was put into operation in the 1960s.
Millions of cars and trucks use the highway every year. According to the operating company Asfinag, the volume has increased almost sevenfold since the 1960s. In 2025, almost 11 million cars and around 2.5 million trucks traveled on the Brenner Motorway. Truck traffic alone has increased by around 40 percent since 2010. This not only causes traffic jams on the Brenner Pass, but also on the secondary routes.
And that is exactly what the announced demonstration is about.
What do the demonstrators want?
The traffic congestion around the Brenner Pass is massive – to the suffering of the people who live in the area. The evasive traffic regularly causes pollution in the surrounding communities – and no longer just on individual days, but throughout the year.
The residents are now resisting this. The demonstration was announced by Karl Mühlsteiger, mayor of the Austrian municipality of Gries am Brenner. He tells “Zeit”:
“In the past, people in Gries am Brenner at least knew when the avalanche of metal was coming. Now we can’t even estimate the traffic collapse.”
Karl Muehlsteiger
It is not Mühlsteiger’s first attempt. The mayor has previously registered two similar demonstrations. However, these were not approved – for fear of traffic chaos.
Mühlsteiger took legal action against this – and was proven right. The Tyrolean State Administrative Court saw the freedom of assembly violated: “To justify a ban on the demonstration against high traffic on the Brenner and in the Wipptal with high traffic volume basically reduces the freedom of assembly to absurdity,” it was said at the time.
What are the consequences of the demonstration?
The General German Automobile Club (ADAC) expects one Traffic chaosalso because the affected day is one of the busiest days of the year: “More than 30,000 car travelers could be affected,” it says. Holiday periods coincide in three federal states (Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Saxony-Anhalt), and June 2nd is a public holiday in Italy.
As the ADAC writes, long traffic jams would have to be expected on such a day, even without a demonstration. And as the ADAC announced on Friday morning, there was already a traffic jam at the Brenner on Friday morning. Traffic chaos is already inevitable.
There is criticism from authorities in Germany, Austria and Italy. It is said, for example, that the closure will cause significant social, ecological and economic damage. The effects will also be noticeable before and after the total closure, for example due to increased transport costs or a lack of tourists.
What alternatives are there? And what does that mean for Switzerland?
Various authorities advise travelers to avoid the area and to avoid driving if possible.
Depending on the region of origin, the Gotthard, San Bernardino or the Reschen Pass are also mentioned as alternative routes. However, these routes are also at high risk of traffic jams.
According to the Swiss authorities, however, the total closure is unlikely to lead to a significantly higher overall load on the Gotthard and San Bernardino routes. ASTRA expects a high volume of traffic between mid-May and mid-June anyway.
If there are traffic jams on the A2 and A13, FEDRO will apply the tried and tested traffic management measures, it said. Travelers are advised to check the traffic situation before departure and to allow enough time.
According to its own statement, FEDRO is in close contact with partner authorities at home and abroad, particularly in Austria, Germany and Italy.