Berlin, October 16th, 2026 (The Berlin Spectator) – Eleven German states begin their autumn holidays today, and the country’s biggest automobile club expects a lot of company on the road this weekend. According to the ADAC, the risk of gridlock might even match the level seen during the summer break.
Holidaymakers and commuters are filling the German Autobahn, the club says. Routes toward the Alps, the coasts and the lakes are expected to be especially busy on Saturday morning. The ADAC recommends hitting the road very early on Saturday or waiting until Sunday.
The club names 13 highways as particularly jam-prone, among them stretches of the A1, A3, A5, A7, A8, A9, A10, A13, A45, A61, A81, A96 and A99. Parts of the A40 and the A3 are closed. Abroad, the Brenner motorway in Austria and Italy as well as the routes between Basel, Zurich and Chur are affected. Drivers should generally stay on the highway, since detours via country roads rarely save time.
Charging Stops
Police could temporarily ban through traffic in some villages, for instance along the A7 in the Ostallgäu region and the A8 near Rosenheim, Miesbach and Berchtesgadener Land. The ADAC also reminds motorists to form an emergency lane as soon as traffic slows down, to take a break about every two hours and to plan enough charging stops if they drive an electric vehicle.
In Schönefeld near Berlin, BER Airport expects around 280,000 passengers on the first holiday weekend and roughly 1.4 million over the entire break, about as many as last year. Antalya in Turkey and the Spanish island of Mallorca are among the most popular destinations.
Construction at the airport is scheduled to start toward the end of October. The remaining old security lanes in the main terminal will be fitted with CT scanners, which spare passengers from unpacking liquids and electronics. The operator does not expect major restrictions, because most travelers already use the upgraded lanes in Terminals 1 and 2.
Trouble for Travelers
Those heading to the Baltic Sea by train should prepare for detours. The RE5 line between Berlin and Rostock or Stralsund is already affected by construction, and the disruptions will outlast the holidays. Until December 12th, replacement buses run between Waren (Müritz) and Neustrelitz. Between October 30th and November 6th, additional trains between Berlin Südkreuz and Löwenberg (Mark) are canceled and also replaced by buses. More passengers might therefore switch to the RE3 line.
Drivers in the capital region face numerous construction zones on the A10, A100 and A115. The Britz tunnel on the A100 is closed at night from October 19th to 23rd, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., for maintenance work between the Buschkrugallee and Oberlandstraße interchanges. In the second week, the A111 between the Tegel Airport tunnel and Schulzendorfer Straße is closed during the same hours.
The city’s traffic information center also warns of roadwork on regular streets, including new sites on Leipziger Straße near Spittelmarkt and on Tempelhofer Damm near Borussiastraße.