The reason for the record-breaking border waiting times was the new regulation on controls on entry to Austria. The Karawanken tunnel was particularly affected.
The regulation on border controls when entering Austria, which has been in force since Saturday, caused total chaos on Sunday night. According to the police, holidaymakers traveling home had to wait up to ten hours for clearance at the Karawanken tunnel, and at the Loibl tunnel it also took seven hours during the night to cross the border.
In the state police headquarters, the phone rang practically all night. Travelers called to complain, inquiries from Germany trickled in as to whether that was true. The waiting people were of course not prepared for such a mega-congestion; fundamental problems arose, such as the question of where to go to the toilet. The autobahn had to be used in some cases. The travelers also ran out of drinks, nobody expected to have to wait in front of the tunnel all night.
The reason for the record-breaking border waiting times was the new regulation of the Austrian federal government. Accordingly, the authorities must record the personal details of all travelers, even if they only cross Austria. On Saturday and on the night of Sunday mainly German and Dutch holidaymakers were on their way home. Quite a few of them ventured their anger to the police by phone. In the morning hours the situation at the Karawanken tunnel calmed down a bit, but at the Loiblpass several hours of waiting time were reported.
(WHAT)
–
