Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and over 20 other customers found themselves in an unusual situation on July 20 when they arrived at Syracuse Regional Airport’s Hertz rental counter, only to find it unmanned for hours. With the Hertz location scheduled to remain open until 1:28 a.m., customers were left without staff assistance from 7:13 p.m. until nearly 7 a.m. the next day. Frustrated and with no automated option for check-out, customers—including Mayor Johnston—resorted to taking cars with keys left inside.
Johnston initially drove away in a car he believed was assigned to him but later swapped it for his actual rental after realizing the mix-up. “There were probably 40 of us all stuck at the same rental car company… But not the right cars,” Johnston explained. Eventually, the Hertz lot was emptied of all accessible cars with keys.
Syracuse Regional Airport officials contacted Hertz, urging them to uphold their commitment to quality service. Hertz later issued an apology, with Area Vice President Jillian Kober pledging immediate action to prevent similar incidents in the future.
