Late Pickups or Delayed Flight

Picking Up Your Car

If your flight has been delayed or if you are running late to collect your rental car, here are the steps you can take.

Contact the rental car company to make them aware of the delay or a flight change. Most rental car companies are understanding about delays, contacting them is important so they know you still require the vehicle and they should hold it for you.

Contact the Rental Car Company:

Notify the rental car company about your flight delay as soon as possible. Most rental companies are understanding about delays, and they may extend your reservation time or adjust the pick-up schedule.
A contact number to the branch or head office will be on your reservation confirmation

Check for Late Arrival Policies:

Many rental car companies allow late pick-ups, but they may have a grace period (e.g., 1–2 hours). If your delay exceeds that, you may need to make alternative arrangements or adjust your booking.

Review the Terms of Your Reservation:

Confirm the rental company's policy on late pick-ups and any potential charges for a missed or delayed pick-up time. This information is often in your rental agreement or can be found on the rental car company’s website.

Provide Flight Details:

Some rental companies offer flight tracking. If yours does, they might adjust the car pick-up time automatically based on your flight's new landing time.

Consider Changing the Pick-Up Time, Location or Date:

If the delay is significant, and it’s too late to pick up your car at the airport, ask if you can change the pick-up location to a different time or location, such as a rental office or another branch.

Check for Additional Fees:

In some cases, if you're picking up the car later than initially planned, there may be additional charges. Ask about these upfront to avoid any surprises.

Avoid Being a ‘No Show’:

When you have been delayed and will not make your original pick-up time, without communicating with the rental car company they may cancel your reservation as a ‘no show’. During holiday periods, they will release the vehicle allocated to your reservation to another customer that is waiting.
By proactively contacting the rental company and being flexible with your plans, you should be able to manage the situation without too much trouble.

Expert Tip

When creating your reservation online, your arrival flight number is important helpful information for the car rental company when collecting a vehicle from an airport. Your flight number will indicate to the rental car company which terminal you will be arriving at (Domestic or International Terminal).

If you experience a flight delay and the rental company is aware of your flight details, they are more likely to hold the vehicle for you. Without arrival flight details in your reservation and if you haven’t collected the vehicle at the booked time, they may treat your reservation as a ‘no-show’ and release the vehicle to another customer.

Late Pickups or Delayed Flight

Other Things to Consider

When Picking Up Your Car

When Hiring a Car