Carrentals.co.uk, Britain’s leading car hire comparison website, is urging all rental customers to check with their respective suppliers about cancellation and delay policies. The UK’s most used comparator has issued the advice in the wake of the ongoing volcanic ash cloud which has thrown European travel plans into chaos. The conditions, which have grounded thousands of flights across the continent, have also left many UK holidaymakers unable to collect their rental vehicles.

The result is that many would-be rental drivers have been left stranded with no means of reaching their intended destination, bringing into question the policies applicable to delays or cancellations. “It is not currently known when flights from the UK will be able to take off…which will have a knock on effect for many travellers with car hire bookings,” said Managing Director of Carrentlas.co.uk, Gareth Robinson.

“We have already seen a number of cancellations coming through as customers have been unable to make it to their holiday destination. We would advise all travellers with car hire bookings who are affected by grounded flights due to the volcanic ash to contact their individual car hire supplier to find out what their policy is on cancellations or delayed pickups,” he added.

As of Monday morning, there is still no estimate as to how long the disruptions may last, though the grounding of planes will mean car rental customers are likely to experience further inconvenience for at least a couple of more days.  Carrentals.co.uk offers car hire deals from over 50 worldwide rental companies, including Alamo, Sixt, Budget, Holiday Autos and easyCar across some 9,000 global locations.