The TSL industry hates a vacuum, but during the holiday season, it must slow down significantly. Easter 2026 (Sunday, April 5) is a time when rigorous traffic restrictions for heavy goods vehicles come into force across Europe. For forwarders and planners, this represents a real logistical challenge.
Perfect knowledge of local regulations is essential. Breaking tonnage restrictions is not just a forced stop in a parking lot, but primarily results in severe financial penalties and delays in supply chains.
To facilitate international route planning, we have prepared a comprehensive schedule of truck driving bans in Europe for the Easter 2026 weekend. Check what the restrictions look like in individual countries and find out how technology can take the burden of arranging routes off your shoulders.
Use the interactive map of driving bans in Europe
Who and where are affected by the Easter truck traffic bans? (03.04 - 07.04.2026)
Road regulations on the continent are not standardized. While the driving ban in Poland covers vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) over 12 tonnes, bans for trucks in Germany or the Czech Republic already apply to vehicles over 7.5 tonnes. Switzerland, on the other hand, imposes restrictions on vehicles from as low as 3.5 tonnes.
Here is a detailed list of European countries for specific days: Friday (03.04), Saturday (04.04), Easter Sunday (05.04), Easter Monday (06.04), and post-holiday Tuesday (07.04).
Albania - No national bans for heavy transport.
- Friday - Tuesday: No restrictions.
Andorra - No holiday road restrictions.
- Friday - Tuesday: No restrictions.
Austria - Driving bans in Austria for trucks cover vehicles over 7.5t GVW and sets with trailers (sum of GVW over 3.5t).
- Friday: No holiday restrictions (only the standard night ban 22:00-05:00 applies). Tyrol Alert: Lueg Bridge renovation ban 07:00-22:00 (A12/A13/A14).
- Saturday: Ban applies from 15:00 to 24:00.
- Sunday: 24-hour ban from 00:00 to 22:00.
- Monday: 24-hour ban from 00:00 to 22:00.
- Tuesday: No restrictions (standard night ban returns).
Belgium - This transit country does not introduce weekend or holiday blocks for HGVs.
- Friday - Tuesday: No restrictions.
Bulgaria - Restrictions for vehicles over 12t (primarily on motorways during traffic peaks). Note: Orthodox Easter is May 10, so April 5 is a regular Sunday.
- Friday: Traffic ban 16:00 - 20:00 (on selected sections).
- Saturday - Tuesday: No restrictions.
Croatia - Restrictions for vehicles over 7.5t and sets longer than 14m on key national roads.
- Friday: Ban 15:00 - 23:00.
- Saturday: Ban 15:00 - 23:00.
- Sunday: Ban from 14:00 to 23:00.
- Monday: Ban from 14:00 to 23:00.
- Tuesday: No restrictions.
Czech Republic - Bans for trucks in the Czech Republic apply to vehicles over 7.5t GVW.
- Friday (Good Friday): Ban from 13:00 to 22:00.
- Saturday: No restrictions.
- Sunday: Ban from 13:00 to 22:00.
- Monday: Ban from 13:00 to 22:00.
- Tuesday: No restrictions.
France - The truck traffic ban in France (>7.5t) is one of the most rigorous in Europe.
- Friday: No restrictions.
- Saturday: Night ban 22:00 - 24:00.
- Sunday: Full ban from 00:00 to 24:00.
- Monday: Ban from 00:00 to 22:00.
- Tuesday: No restrictions.
Germany - Public holidays in Germany mean strict driving bans for rigid trucks over 7.5t and all trucks with trailers regardless of weight.
- Friday (Karfreitag): Ban from 00:00 to 22:00.
- Saturday: No restrictions.
- Sunday: Ban from 00:00 to 22:00.
- Monday (Ostermontag): Ban from 00:00 to 22:00.
- Tuesday: No restrictions.
Greece - Vehicles with a payload > 1.5t (mainly motorways, outbound and return directions). Note: Follows the Orthodox calendar (holidays May 10), but standard Sunday bans apply April 5.
- Friday - Tuesday: No special holiday restrictions (standard Sunday rules apply).
Hungary - The ban system for HGVs > 7.5t often creates long time blocks here.
- Friday: Ban 00:00 - 22:00.
- Saturday: Night ban 22:00 - 24:00.
- Sunday: 24-hour ban 00:00 - 24:00.
- Monday: Ban from 00:00 to 22:00.
- Tuesday: No restrictions.
Italy - Truck traffic in Italy (>7.5t) is heavily restricted during holidays.
- Friday: Ban 14:00 - 22:00.
- Saturday: Ban 09:00 - 16:00.
- Sunday: Ban 09:00 - 22:00.
- Monday: Ban 09:00 - 22:00.
- Tuesday (post-Easter): Ban 09:00 - 14:00.
Liechtenstein - Transit regulations mirror neighboring Switzerland (>3.5t).
- Friday: Ban 00:00 - 24:00.
- Sunday: Ban 00:00 - 24:00.
- Monday: Ban 00:00 - 24:00.
Luxembourg - An important point on the map. Bans apply to vehicles >7.5t in transit.
- Friday: Ban 00:00 - 21:45 (Germany direction).
- Saturday: Ban 21:30 - 24:00 (France direction).
- Sunday: Ban from 00:00 to 21:45 (both directions).
- Monday: Ban from 00:00 to 21:45 (both directions).
Poland - Restrictions apply to vehicles with a GVW over 12 tonnes.
- Friday: No restrictions.
- Saturday: Ban from 18:00 to 22:00.
- Sunday: Ban from 08:00 to 22:00.
- Monday: Ban from 08:00 to 22:00.
- Tuesday: No restrictions.
Romania - Vehicles >7.5t on specific national roads (e.g., DN7). Note: Orthodox Easter is April 10-13, 2026.
- Friday - Tuesday: No special holiday bans (standard Sunday rules apply).
Slovakia - Tonnage restrictions include trucks >7.5t and sets with semi-trailers.
- Friday: Ban from 00:00 to 22:00.
- Saturday: No restrictions.
- Sunday: Ban from 00:00 to 22:00.
- Monday: Ban from 00:00 to 22:00.
Slovenia - Vehicles with GVW > 7.5t.
- Friday: Ban 14:00 - 22:00.
- Sunday: Ban 08:00 - 22:00.
- Monday: Ban 08:00 - 22:00.
Switzerland - Very strict rules for vehicles over 3.5t (additional daily night ban 22:00 - 05:00).
- Friday: 24-hour ban 00:00 - 24:00.
- Sunday: 24-hour ban 00:00 - 24:00.
- Monday: 24-hour ban 00:00 - 24:00.
United Kingdom - International transport will not encounter nationwide holiday blocks here (watch only for local LEZ/DVS zones in London).
Difficulties in transport planning during holidays and days off
The above list clearly shows what dispatchers are facing. Imagine managing a fleet of several dozen or hundred cars, each carrying out a multi-stage route, e.g., from Spain to Poland with partial unloading in France.
Easter is a logistical minefield for TSL companies. Traditional methods - notebooks, dozens of browser tabs, and Excel maps - fail. A one-hour mistake at the German-French border is enough for a driver to “catch” a driving ban for the entire Sunday. This means breaking working time rules, no guarantee of finding a safe parking lot with infrastructure for the driver, and fines for delivery delays from contractors. Manually calculating such scenarios is simply inefficient.
ONYX TMS: AI-driven route planning automation
How to eliminate human errors from transport scheduling during holiday periods? The answer is the ONYX TMS system, which takes the tedious analytical work off the shoulders of forwarders.
Instead of leafing through ban tables, you entrust it to algorithms:
- AI plans for you: An advanced module in the ONYX system analyzes live available transport orders, the current position of vehicles, driver working time, and - most importantly - all European traffic bans. The AI automatically suggests which vehicle from your fleet should carry out a specific load to ensure the transit is safe and profitable.
- Human only verifies: The system does not take control away from you. The dispatcher receives a ready plan, evaluates it with their expert eye, and accepts it with one click, sending the order to the driver’s terminal.
- Visualization in the route calculator: Wondering where a vehicle will be on Friday afternoon? In the built-in route calculator, you can preview the exact routes of each vehicle on the map in real-time, predict pause locations, and avoid zones covered by road bans.
Do not let intricate regulations and tonnage restrictions dictate the pace of your business. Invest in ONYX TMS and ensure that the complex transport planning for Easter 2026 and every subsequent long weekend takes place completely automatically.
How many vehicles in your current fleet are operating on routes toward Germany and France this holiday season, and would you like to see a custom AI-driven route simulation to avoid these specific bans? Contact us for more details.
