Every hurricane season brings the same familiar question for thousands of Floridians: Should we leave now, or wait?
Unfortunately, by the time many families decide to evacuate, flights have sold out, interstate traffic has slowed to a crawl, and options become increasingly limited.
A new Florida company believes it has a solution.
PriorityEvac has officially launched what it describes as the state’s first membership-based hurricane air evacuation program, giving residents access to pre-arranged flights before a major storm makes travel difficult.
What’s included in the membership?
Membership costs $1,250 per person each year and covers the entire Atlantic hurricane season from June 1 through November 30.
According to PriorityEvac, members receive:
- Up to two qualifying hurricane evacuations per season
- No additional activation fees
- No storm surge pricing
- Household membership options
- Optional pet coverage
Enrollment is currently limited based on available aircraft capacity.
How the PriorityEvac hurricane evacuation program works
Instead of scrambling to find a flight after a hurricane warning is issued, members pay an annual fee for access to PriorityEvac’s evacuation network.
When a storm meets predetermined activation criteria based on National Hurricane Centre forecasts, members are contacted and assigned a dedicated case manager to coordinate their evacuation.
Flights depart from six Florida airports:
- Miami International Airport
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
- Palm Beach International Airport
- Tampa International Airport
- Sarasota Bradenton International Airport
- Southwest Florida International Airport
Passengers are flown to Atlanta, safely outside Florida’s primary hurricane impact zone, where they can make onward travel arrangements if needed.
According to the company, flights are operated by Global Crossing Airlines under its own operating authority.
Which Florida counties are covered?
The initial rollout covers 12 counties across Florida’s east and west coasts.
Coverage includes parts of:
- Miami-Dade County
- Broward County
- Palm Beach County
- Tampa Bay
- Sarasota
- Southwest Florida
The company says expansion into additional coverage areas may depend on future capacity.
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Designed to beat the last-minute hurricane rush
Anyone who has lived through a major Florida hurricane knows how quickly evacuation options disappear.
Commercial flights often sell out days before landfall. Private charter prices can soar into the tens of thousands of dollars. At the same time, highways become heavily congested as millions attempt to leave at once.
PriorityEvac founder Jason Murgio says the service was created to remove that uncertainty by arranging aircraft long before a storm develops.
Rather than reacting to demand, the company says it secures aircraft capacity in advance and follows objective activation protocols based on hurricane forecasts.
Emergency management experts lead operations
PriorityEvac says its evacuation planning is overseen by professionals with military, emergency management and meteorological experience.
Chief Operating Officer Tim Houston is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel who previously coordinated disaster response operations through NORAD and U.S. Northern Command.
The company’s senior meteorological adviser, Wally Barnes, spent 18 years as a lead forecaster at the National Hurricane Centre and helps determine when evacuation criteria have been met.
PriorityEvac says its operational model has also been tested against more than 20 years of Florida hurricane history to identify evacuation windows before airports close and roads become overwhelmed.
Partnership supports disaster relief beyond Florida
The company has also partnered with Project DYNAMO, a veteran-led nonprofit organisation known for rescue and evacuation missions around the world.
During hurricane activations, Project DYNAMO will assist with communications, logistics and member support throughout the evacuation process.
PriorityEvac says a portion of every membership fee also helps fund the organisation’s humanitarian and disaster response work.
Is PriorityEvac worth considering?
For Floridians who evacuate regularly—or own seasonal homes in hurricane-prone areas—the service offers something many traditional travel options cannot: a plan that’s already in place before a storm threatens the state.
PriorityEvac is currently accepting applications for its 2026 member waitlist.
