Hertz chief executive Gil West told industry contacts that one-way rental reservations spiked this weekend as travelers abandoned canceled hub connections for drives of eight hours or less, a ground-level workaround while the FAA’s staffing-driven flight cuts kept more than 2,800 U.S. cancellations on Sunday alone.
Reuters counted more than 2,800 cancellations and 10,200 delays on the third day of government-mandated capacity reductions, the worst daily tally since the shutdown began choking air traffic control staffing. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that holiday traffic could “slow to a trickle” if funding did not return, even as the Senate moved toward a reopening package.
Why renters are going one-way
Travel writers advising NPR listeners said the pragmatic move during prolonged disruption is to treat flying as optional inside a day’s drive. One-way rentals let families pick up a car near a canceled origin and drop it at their destination without backtracking for the vehicle—Hertz’s reported surge fits that pattern.
One-way trips also dodge the domino effect that hits afternoon banked flights first. Morning departures still cancel when towers are short-staffed, but road trips remove the connection risk that stranded thousands of passengers this weekend at Atlanta, Dallas, and Denver hubs.
Costs and trade-offs
One-way rentals often carry drop fees, though majors waived some surcharges during prior weather events. This crisis is policy-driven, not meteorological, so travelers should read contracts for mileage caps and fuel charges before swapping airline tickets for sedans.
Gas prices remain lower than pandemic peaks—West Texas Intermediate traded near $60 a barrel in Sunday futures—but hotel stays plus tolls can exceed a discounted airfare if only one passenger travels. Carpools and rideshare splits change the math quickly above two adults.
Airline obligations still apply
Passengers who cancel voluntarily after choosing a rental may surrender refund rights. Those whose flights airlines scrubbed retain rebooking or refund options under Transportation Department rules, even when the root cause is FAA staffing. Save cancellation texts and screen-shot airport delay boards before heading to the rental counter.
Elite status does not exempt travelers from security lines when TSA lanes close. NPR noted Houston’s checkpoint closures; arriving three hours early may still miss a tight connection, reinforcing why some households left the terminal entirely.
Planning the next two weeks
If you must fly for Thanksgiving, book the first departure of the day, monitor airline apps for auto-rebooking, and pack essentials in carry-ons if checked bags miss truncated connections. If you can drive within eight hours, compare total door-to-door time including rental pickup queues at busy airports.
Hertz’s one-way bump is a market signal, not a policy fix. Controllers returning to paid shifts will eventually restore schedules, but rental counters may stay busy until carriers publish stable timetables. Until then, the lowest-stress itinerary might be the one that never enters the conga line at Gate B.