NORFOLK, Va. — Travelers into Norfolk International Airport were greeted with long lines and few answers Thursday afternoon.
Around 100 people waited hours to pick up their rental cars from Hertz, Budget and Avis.
"It’s been four hours since I landed," said Yul Abbott, flying in from Texas for a family reunion.
He said he booked his rental car from Hertz back in April. It wasn't long after he arrived at 12:30 p.m. that he realized he was in for a long afternoon.
"I thought maybe a weather delay, cancellation of some kind. Had no idea that this was going to be the case for this long," he said. "I’ve been here too long to just walk away and do something else."
Finally, around 5 p.m., 13News Now watched as he grabbed his keys and the group of waiting travelers applauded.
Traci Howard Moore waited for more than an hour in line to pick up her car to drive to a class reunion in North Carolina.
"They told us that the system was down and that it was just up running. I've also heard they're a little short-staffed," she said.
A Hertz spokesperson confirmed there was a brief system issue:
“A brief system issue that has been resolved caused some delays this afternoon at our Norfolk International Airport location but all customers with reservations have received vehicles. We appreciated their patience as we worked to get them on the road as quickly as possible.”
It wasn’t just Hertz having problems today.
Avis and Budget customers were also left waiting for keys for hours.
"About an hour and a half ago, I came to get my rental car that I booked a couple of months ago. No cars. We're surrounded by other people who haven't been able to pick their cars up, so I'm very very frustrated," said Brad Burchstead.
His plan was to fly from Kansas City to Norfolk and then drive to the Outer Banks for vacation. When he arrived, he said he couldn’t get a straight answer as to why they waited almost two hours for their car.
"I’ve been back up to the counter a couple of times. They’re cleaning the cars, they’re cleaning the cars," he said.
Lakisha Tucker said the Avis/Budget desk told her something different.
"We overbooked and we don’t have enough workers. That’s exactly what she said," Tucker said.
As Tucker's son took a nap on the floor after a long day of traveling, she said she’s just asking for better communication from the company.
"All you have to do is talk to people. We understand things happen, but let folks know."
13News Now has reached out to Avid and Budget for clarity on what the problem was, or if they did in fact overbook, but we have not heard back.