What happens if you pick up a rental car late?

It’s a common occurrence: flights that depart late and, as a result, arrive late as well. Especially (charter) flights to popular vacation destinations are often subject to delays. How does this affect the car you’ve rented? How much later can you still pick up the rental car? And why would it actually be a problem if you pick up the car late, since you’ve already paid for it anyway?

Below, we explain how much time you should allow between your flight’s arrival and picking up your rental car. We’ll also tell you what to do if things don’t go exactly according to plan—for example, if your flight is (significantly) delayed.

1. Choose the pickup time for your rental car carefully

When you book a car through us, we always ask you to specify the time at which you’ll pick up your reserved rental car. Don’t choose a time that’s too close to your flight’s expected arrival time. Not only to allow for minor delays, but also because after landing, you’ll spend quite a bit of time just getting off the plane, waiting for your luggage, and (if applicable) going through customs. Especially during peak season, these processes can take quite a while.

We recommend choosing a time that’s at least one hour later than your flight’s arrival time. And perhaps even a little longer, since it’s usually less of a problem to arrive at the car rental counter a bit early than to be late. If you only have carry-on luggage, you can shorten the buffer time a bit. But are you traveling with (young) children? In that case, make the buffer a little longer, because they’ll probably want to run and jump around after a flight before they have to sit still again in a rental car.

Are you traveling to a very large airport? Then check to see if the car rental counter is in the same terminal where you’ll be arriving. If not, add an extra half hour to the time between landing and picking up your rental car.

Even if you’ve rented a car from a company with an office outside the airport, it’s wise to allow plenty of time between landing and pickup.

2. You’ve already paid for the rental car, so what does it matter if you’re late?

Many people are surprised to learn that renting a car isn’t the same as booking a hotel room, where you can arrive well after check-in time. You should think of car rental more like reserving a table at a restaurant, which is also only held for a limited time.

Car rental is more complicated than it might seem at first glance. Rental cars are constantly being picked up and dropped off, and the rental company has a limited number of parking spaces. To make the best possible use of those spaces, a rental car cannot occupy a spot for an extended period. This requires careful management, especially at larger airports where hundreds of rental cars are picked up and dropped off every hour.

Rental cars therefore do not wait indefinitely for the customer. How long they hold a car varies by provider, usually between 1 and 2 hours. It rarely exceeds 2 hours.

3. Flight Number + Rental Car

When you reserve a rental car at an airport, we’ll ask for your flight number. This information is also shared with the local rental company. Most car rental companies will be a bit more flexible about how long they hold a rental car and wait for you if they see that your flight is delayed. Please note: this does not relieve you of the obligation to also notify the rental company yourself about the delay (see point 4 below).

We recommend that you wait to reserve a rental car until you’ve booked a flight. You’ll then have a flight number and an estimated arrival time. This makes it easy to determine what time you can pick up the rental car. Changing that time later means canceling the original reservation and making a new booking. This may affect the price. Speaking of cancellations: they’re free of charge up to 48 hours in advance.

4. What to do in case of a delay?

If you’re at the departure airport and find out that your flight will be (significantly) delayed, call the local rental company immediately and explain the situation. By letting them know you’ll be arriving later, the rental company may hold the car for you longer, but this is never guaranteed. The rental company’s contact information is listed on the voucher we sent by email, which you should have printed out.

Sometimes a delay occurs—or the delay gets longer—while you’re already on the plane. In that case, you obviously can’t make a call. You’ll just have to wait until the plane arrives at its destination and contact the local rental company immediately after landing.

By the way, you should only take action in the event of significant delays. A departure that’s just 15 minutes late is considered “on time” in the aviation industry.

5. What if I’m late and the rental counter is already closed?

When you contact the car rental company to report your delay, it will be clear right away whether you can still pick up the rental car during regular business hours. If not, the rental company will work with you to arrange how you can pick up the car. In some cases, the counter will stay open a little longer (especially if several customers are arriving late); in other cases, a staff member will meet you in the terminal. This service, provided outside of regular business hours, usually involves a fee that you’ll need to pay on the spot.

If it’s not a problem for you to pick up the rental car the next day, that’s sometimes an option as well. Discuss this with the rental company or contact us to see if that can be arranged.

6. Rental car no longer available—what now?

As we mentioned above, a car you’ve rented is only available for a limited time. If you don’t show up around the time you booked the rental car, the rental company will assume you won’t be coming at all. The reservation will be marked as a “no-show” and canceled, making the car immediately available to someone else.

Please note: if the reservation is canceled, you are not entitled to a refund, even if the car is rented to someone else.

Once again: it is of the utmost importance to choose your pickup time carefully and to notify the rental company immediately in case of a delay. We are, of course, always ready to help you, but even we cannot guarantee that your rental car will still be available if you are late. That is entirely up to the local car rental company.