It is of course no surprise that when the majority of people who wish to drive overseas land at their destination airport, carhire is the first thing that they want to do. It is equally unsurprising then, that the vast majority of carhire offices are at airports. Whether travelling on business or on holiday, airport carhire is an essential part of ensuring a smooth start to the visit.

Booking online is often the most convenient way to ensure that your airport carhire is addressed before the start of your journey. All the major carhire companies have easy-to-navigate websites, which clearly detail which vehicles are available and from which airport carhire can take place. They will swiftly calculate a price for the hire itself and many allow you to print off the sales voucher to speed up the hire process at the airport itself.

Upon undertaking a car rental, virtually all different companies require certain conditions to be met. Naturally, they all require the car to be returned in good condition – or certainly in no worse condition that the customer found it. Most of them do not permit the vehicle to be driven beyond a maximum distance, without incurring hefty additional fees. There is usually a minimum age for the driver too – at least 21 in most of the European Union, although it can rise to around 25.

Naturally, a valid, current driver’s license is needed before a car can be hired, and this usually needs to be a clean license. The overwhelming number of rental firms require the customer to use a credit card, for security reasons – meaning that in the event of someone failing to return the vehicle or inflicting damage to it, the company will be able to levy additional fees or trace the individual concerned.

When undertaking airport carhire, there are a number of additional payments that can be made. Many of these are optional but may well prove useful to the customer. Chief among these are loss damage waivers (LDW) and collision damage waivers (CDW).

As only a bare minimum of wear and tear to the vehicle is covered under the base price, these waivers require the customer to make an additional payment in order to cover costs in the event of the car being damaged in a crash, vandalised or stolen. Although there are exceptional circumstances in which the waivers would still not apply – such as drink-driving, for instance – many customers choose to pay the extra for these waivers and therefore get peace of mind.

Other recent innovations in airport carhire have come into effect through new technology. Due to GPS, it is possible for companies to implement a maximum speed limit with their car fleet, and in many parts of Europe, airport carhire terminals have an option to hire electric or renewable fuel vehicles.