Some companies hold your car for hours when you give them a flight number. Others give you 60 minutes and a no-show fee. The difference is three things — and one of them is in your hands.
SIXT holds up to 24 hours with a flight number. Hertz Switzerland holds one hour after actual landing. Enterprise UK holds an airport booking until the flight lands and clears. Budget (Sweden) and Avis (Germany/Sweden) only promise to track the flight — though Avis Switzerland also applies a 24-hour collection window before a no-show fee, and Budget UK applies a no-show fee. The policy is company-specific and country-specific.
Most hold rules are bounded by branch opening hours. Even a 24-hour guarantee means pickup during business hours. If you land after closing, only specific, conditional after-hours arrangements apply — Enterprise UK staff wait for a delayed flight past closing, Enterprise Switzerland charges CHF 50 per 30 minutes, and SIXT airport branches can stay open up to 1 hour beyond closing with a flight number.
A flight number changes the clock at SIXT, Hertz and Enterprise. Prepaid changes what a no-show costs you. Booking through a broker means the supplier’s terms apply, not the broker’s. These three details decide the outcome before you even land.
| Provider | Grace without flight number | With flight number | Desk closed / after hours | No-show & prepaid outcome | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SIXT13 countries listed by SIXT | 60 minutes, within branch opening hours | Reservation guaranteed up to 24 hours; pickup still only during business hours | With a flight number, airport branches stay open up to 1 hour beyond closing for delayed pickups | Booking may be marked no-show after grace period expires; prepaid held for the rental period (no fee amount published) | Sixt policy |
| HertzSwitzerland | 1 hour, or until closing if earlier | Until 1 hour after actual landing; Gold Plus Rewards: 2 hours | Station stays open only if the airline has notified the delay and new arrival time | Reservation expires if the window is missed; prepaid no-show fee CHF 140 (prepaid schedule) | Hertz CH terms |
| EnterpriseUnited Kingdom | Airport: 2 hours or closing, whichever earlier. Non-airport: 2 hours | Airport: held until the flight has landed and cleared; staff wait if landing passes closing | Staff member waits for the flight when a flight number is on the booking | Prepaid no-show refunded minus £125 | Enterprise UK terms |
| EnterpriseSwitzerland | 2-hour grace without a valid flight number | After-hours collection at airport stations with a valid flight number | CHF 50 per 30 minutes; staff wait maximum 30 minutes after landing | No-show page: reservation expires after 2 hours without a valid flight number; vehicle may be released (no fee stated) | Enterprise CH policy |
| EuropcarGermany | Without prepayment or card/personal data: vehicle not guaranteed beyond 2 hours | No separate with-number rule published; the terms state only that without a train/flight number the station waits up to 1 hour after regular closing | Airport/rail stations without a number: staff wait up to 1 hour after regular closing | No-show fee up to €95, capped at the rental price; flight delays explicitly not force majeure | Europcar DE terms |
| EuropcarUnited Kingdom | Per terms; airport bookings linked to a flight number get a reduced out-of-hours charge | Reduced out-of-hours charge for delayed arrivals | Out-of-hours collection £60; £20 for airport bookings with a flight number | Prepayment may be refunded less the No Show Charge (Tariff Guide) | Europcar UK terms |
| BudgetUK · Spain · Sweden · Australia | No official grace period published on the pages verified | Tracking only (Sweden: “Budget will still track late flights” with correct flight details) | No desk-closing or after-hours rule found | UK: €40/£40 no-show fee, booking cancelled with no refund. Spain/Australia: prepaid forfeited | Budget UK FAQ |
| AvisSwitzerland · Germany · Sweden · Spain | Swiss terms: 24-hour collection window before a no-show fee; the terms state the booking is guaranteed by the local provider | Tracking only (Germany/Sweden) with correct flight details | No desk-closing or after-hours rule found | Switzerland: Non Cancellation Fee €60/€65/CHF 76. Spain: prepaid not refunded on no-show | Avis CH terms |
Every cell is from the provider’s own official page or terms document, checked 21 October 2026, and applies only to the country named. “No rule found” means the official pages we verified do not state one — not that a rule does not exist. Always confirm your branch’s terms before you fly.
This is the one action that changes outcomes across the most providers — and it is also the most overpromised. Here is exactly what it does and does not do.
Delayed is not the same as missed.A delay means you arrive late but inside the company’s hold rules. A missed pickup means you did not collect the car within the applicable window — and that is what triggers cancellation and fees. Your flight number, the hold rule and the desk’s closing time are what separate the two.
If your booking is marked as a no-show, the refund outcome depends on company and country: Budget UK and Spain refuse refunds, Enterprise UK refunds minus the lesser of the total and £125 (£150 for residents of Ireland or other EU countries), Europcar Germany refunds minus up to €95, and Hertz refunds the prepayment minus the no-show charge on written request within 90 days (CHF 140 for Swiss prepaid rates). SIXT is the outlier — it describes prepaid reservations as held throughout the rental period. None of this changes because a flight was delayed: Europcar Germany explicitly states that flight delays do not release you from the fee.
If you booked through a broker, the desk applies the supplier’s terms. Rentalcars.com’s own conditions say the supplier’s rental agreement governs the rental and that the platform is not a party to it. Read the pickup and no-show rules in the supplier’s own documentation — that is the contract the counter will follow.
Hypothetical examples built from the verified policies above — not real customer stories.
With a flight number on the booking: SIXT holds up to 24 hours, Hertz Switzerland holds until landing + 1 hour, Enterprise UK holds until the flight lands and clears. Low risk — but carry your booking reference and the flight number confirmation.
You are now in after-hours territory: conditional and priced. SIXT airport branches may stay open up to 1 hour past closing with a flight number. Enterprise Switzerland: CHF 50 per 30 minutes with a flight number. Europcar UK: £60, or £20 with a flight-number booking. If your provider has no arrangement, the reservation is at risk.
The original pickup window is gone. Do not wait — call or message the branch, ask them to move the pickup time, and get written confirmation. If the booking was prepaid, check the no-show terms first so you know what a “no collection on the rental start day” would cost you (Budget UK: booking cancelled with no refund).
Highest-risk case: the airline may not publish a new arrival time, which breaks the Hertz Switzerland after-hours condition (it requires airline notification). Contact the branch yourself with your best estimate, ask about hold and after-hours rules, and get the answer in writing before you board.
You are on the fallback clock: 60 minutes at SIXT, 1 hour (or closing) at Hertz Switzerland, 2 hours at Enterprise non-airport branches — and tracking-only at Budget Sweden and Avis Germany/Sweden (Avis Switzerland has a 24-hour window; Budget UK charges a no-show fee). If the delay exceeds the window, you risk cancellation and a no-show fee. Add the flight number now if the booking allows it.
Answer the six questions below. The assistant applies the verified rules from this page — it is a checklist, not a prediction of what any company will do.
Answer the six questions to see your outcome.
No. A flight number changes the rules at several companies — SIXT extends the hold to up to 24 hours, Hertz Switzerland holds until one hour after actual landing, Enterprise UK holds an airport booking until the flight lands and clears — but these rules are bounded by the company's own conditions; after-hours pickup exists only under specific arrangements. Budget (Sweden) and Avis (Germany/Sweden) only promise to track the flight. A flight number reduces risk; it is not a guarantee.
There is no universal number. SIXT states 60 minutes within branch opening hours. Hertz Switzerland states 1 hour, or until closing if earlier. Enterprise UK holds non-airport bookings for 2 hours. Budget publishes no official grace period on the pages we verified. Any figure you see presented as a universal rule is wrong — check your company and branch.
Not necessarily. If the booking is marked as a no-show, the outcome differs by company and country: Budget UK and Spain refuse refunds, Enterprise UK refunds minus the lesser of the total and £125 (£150 for residents of Ireland or other EU countries), Europcar Germany refunds minus up to €95, and Hertz refunds the prepayment minus the no-show charge (CHF 140 for Swiss prepaid rates) on written request within 90 days. Europcar Germany explicitly states that a flight delay is not treated as force majeure. Prepaid is not the same as refundable.
Only specific, conditional arrangements exist. SIXT says airport branches stay open up to 1 hour beyond closing for delayed pickups with a flight number. Enterprise Switzerland offers after-hours collection at airport stations with a valid flight number for CHF 50 per 30 minutes. Europcar UK charges £60 for out-of-hours collection, reduced to £20 for airport bookings linked to a flight number. Hertz Switzerland keeps the station open only if the airline has notified the delay. If your provider has no such arrangement, your reservation is at risk.
Yes — broker terms are not supplier terms. Rentalcars.com's own conditions state that the supplier's rental agreement governs the rental and that the platform is not a party to it. If you booked through a broker, read the supplier's pickup and no-show terms in the supplier's own documentation, because those are the rules the desk will apply.
Yes, unless your booking terms say otherwise. Enterprise Norway asks customers to contact the rental company at least 30 minutes before the pickup time even when a flight number is on file. SIXT asks you to message via live chat only if you will be later than 60 minutes. Hertz Switzerland's published terms do not state a contact requirement when flight data is provided; the hold runs to one hour after actual landing. A short call costs minutes and removes ambiguity — and ask for written confirmation of whatever you are told.
No provider we verified says so, and Europcar Germany's terms explicitly state that flight delays do not release the customer from the no-show fee (up to €95). Do not assume a delay waives anything — check the fee and the conditions before you decide how to respond.
A delay means you arrive later than scheduled but within the company's hold rules. A missed pickup (no-show) means you did not collect the car within the applicable window — and that is what triggers cancellation and no-show fees. The difference between them is the company's hold rule, your flight number, and the desk's opening hours. That is exactly what the three determinants in this guide are for.
Dubrovnik car rental cross-border fees — the other rental fine print that changes a trip’s real cost · Total travel time comparison — delays are a segment of the door-to-door journey · Real cost of a flight — no-show fees are hidden costs too.
Every provider claim on this page was read directly from the official source below. Policies are country-specific and change; treat every figure as point-in-time and re-check before booking. Where an official page does not state a rule, this page says so rather than guessing.