Heavy traffic in northern Germany due to holidays and Wacken festival

Holidaymakers faced significant delays across northern Germany on Sunday as the summer travel season peaked. Traffic on autobahns, particularly heading south, came to a crawl, with congestion on the A7 near Hamburg stretching to nine kilometers at its worst. Drivers experienced delays of over an hour due to the heavy volume.

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We have travel traffic and return traffic from Wacken.

The situation was exacerbated by a serious accident on the A23 near Halstenbek, which led to a road closure and further snarled traffic. The combination of holiday travel and the return of attendees from the Wacken Open Air festival created a perfect storm for commuters.

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The journey south was temporarily extended by more than an hour due to the full autobahns.

Even traffic heading north was affected, with a 20-minute increase in travel time near the Elbe Tunnel on the A7. The A1 between Bremen and Hamburg also saw significantly slower speeds than usual. The Wacken Open Air festival, which concluded overnight, had attracted 85,000 visitors, contributing to the outbound travel rush.

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The operational forces appeal to all drivers to only start their journey if they are fully fit to drive.