Six activists from the “Last Generation” brought holiday traffic on the Fernpassstraße (B179) to a standstill with a protest near Fernsteinsee on Saturday morning. At times it was no longer possible to move between Biberwier (Reutte district) and Nassereith (Imst district) and there was a kilometer-long traffic jam. “Stuck on the Fernpass – We demand better public transport, as recommended by the Climate Council,” said a broadcast from “Last Generation”.
According to the police, four of the six activists stuck themselves to the road around 10 a.m. Due to the large volume of traffic and the lack of a bypass option, a massive backlog formed in both directions within a very short time. Traffic also collapsed completely in Nassereith. The action was stopped by the police at 10:30 a.m. on instructions from the authorities; the cooperative activists left the street with solvents they had brought with them.
At around 10.40 a.m. the Fernpass road was open to traffic again. Nevertheless, according to the ÖAMTC, German holidaymakers were about three kilometers behind when entering the Füssen border tunnel in the late morning. The time lost heading south was two and a half hours.
Some German tourists behaved very aggressively towards the activists, said Marina Hagen-Canaval from “Last Generation” when asked by APA. However, she stated: “We don’t want to disturb anyone on the way to their well-deserved recovery, but we have to. The climate catastrophe is escalating and instead of taking countermeasures, our Chancellor is partying all night long at balls.”
Like the tourists who were slowed down, Tyrol’s State Security Councilor Astrid Mair (ÖVP) showed no understanding for the actions of the climate activists. “It is extremely irresponsible to endanger others for activism,” she said. Especially on one of the busiest weekends of the year, it is simply “mean” towards the local population to block important supply routes such as the Fernpass. Mair announced that she would continue to campaign for tougher penalties for climate adhesives in the federal government.
Deputy State Governor Georg Dornauer (SPÖ) sounded the same tune, describing the protest of the “Last Generation” as “last class”. The climate adhesives have become a safety problem and endanger others. “If Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner cannot finally bring themselves to impose rigorous punishments, then sooner or later there will be violent clashes as part of such actions,” said Dornauer. The federal government is responsible for getting the problem under control as quickly as possible.
The holiday shift change led to increased traffic not only at the Fernpass but throughout Tyrol. There were also delays at the Scharnitz (B177) and Achenpass (B181) border points as well as in the Ötz and Zillertal valleys.
2024-02-10 15:17:05