Swiss motorists kick off summer holiday with massive traffic jams

It's the second time severe traffic jams have hit Swiss motorways this year: there were also 12 kilometre tailbacks on the A2 in May Keystone

The start of school summer holidays in 13 Swiss cantons has led to massive traffic jams on the mian north-to south route over the Gotthard pass.

Hundreds of motorists are heading towards Italy for a summer break but ended up in tailbacks stretching for kilometres. At midday on Saturday, the A2 between Amsteg and Göschenen had an 11 kilometre queue, with drivers having to wait up to three and a half hours before traffic began to move again. There was a 12 kilometre jam at the border crossing into Italy at Chiasso.

Tailbacks of around four kilometres were also reported in the opposite direction at the Gotthard pass.

The recent bad weather has also been a factor for the traffic jams. Roadblocks were in place for four hours early on Saturday at the tunnel near Horw in canton Lucerne on the A2, after flooding, which also led to tailbacks.

swissinfo with agencies