In the Whitsun traffic jam on the A10

Climate stickers pretending to be Lignano vacationers

At Hallein, the activists stuck to the highway.

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

When a dozen or so young people stood on the Tauern highway on Saturday morning like other holidaymakers, they were also mistaken for such people. One of them said they wanted to go to "Tutto Gas" in Lignano. It was only when the activists jumped onto the road that it became clear what they were up to.

They pretended to be vacationers. "We want to get an overview of the traffic jam," said a student who turned up with other people just before Hallein on the congested Tauern highway on Saturday morning. But the group didn't want to go to "Tutto Gas" in Lignano.

After around an hour, the police removed the climate stickers from the asphalt.

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Across the carriageway
Suddenly, everyone slipped into last-generation vests and ran between the vacationers' cars. They quickly sat down in a row across the road and stuck their hands to the asphalt. A deafening concert of honking horns started immediately and they gave the finger. "Are you crazy? Go to work! Our children have to wait because of you!" German holidaymakers shouted at the activists. One holidaymaker grabbed an activist by the sleeve, saying his dog had to be walked and he wanted to leave. The situation briefly threatened to escalate.

Valerian Miller used the Kleber demonstration to take a break.

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

28-kilometer-long traffic jam
However, the police quickly arrived at the scene of the incident, near the A10 exit barrier at Hallein. Even before the sit-in blockade, almost no progress had been made there. During the night, a 28-kilometer-long traffic jam had formed in front of the tunnel construction sites. While the police marched up, holidaymakers filmed what was happening.

"Unbelievable," said some. "We're destroying the planet. But this kind of action is simply dangerous," said a man from Stuttgart who was on his way to Croatia. "Climate protection must be included in the constitution. We're not leaving here voluntarily," insisted a climate activist. In the middle of it all, Valerian Miller from Kaufbeuren rocked baby Leo in his arms. "We want to go to Bibione and we left at five o'clock in the morning," he said, surprised at so much congestion.

Traffic jam advisor: "Vacationers already plan for traffic jams"
Most holidaymakers took the waiting time of up to five hours in their stride. "They plan for traffic jams. But the level of relaxation is decreasing," reported ÖAMTC dust consultant Herbert Thaler. Until the police had finished the demonstration, they directed drivers away from the highway and out onto the main road.