How much time to allow
Ninety minutes before you need to be at the check-in desk is a sensible minimum: refuelling, finding the return area, the inspection and the walk back to the terminal all take longer than expected.
Airport return areas are often on a separate level or in a distant car park with its own signage. Look up the exact location before the day of departure.
Refuel before you arrive
Fill up within a few kilometres of the airport so the gauge still reads at the agreed level. Airport-adjacent stations are usually the last chance and are often busy at peak departure times.
Keep the receipt — it settles any dispute about the fuel level immediately.
Complete the handover properly
Get the car inspected with you present
Where staff are available, walk round the car with them and have the condition confirmed on the return document.
Photograph the returned car
All panels, wheels, the interior and the fuel gauge and odometer, in the return bay. This is your record if a charge appears later.
Take the paperwork
Leave with a signed return note or an emailed confirmation showing the time, the mileage and the condition.
If the desk is closed
Late departures may mean returning to a key box or a designated bay without staff. In that case the photographs are the only evidence, so take more of them, including a wide shot showing the car in the correct bay.