A company based in Palm Beach County is offering Florida residents a guaranteed seat on an evacuation flight to Atlanta if there is a hurricane threat.
PriorityEvac, headquartered in West Palm Beach, offers Floridians an annual subscription that promises a spot on an evacuation flight from one of six Florida airports to Atlanta, including Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and President Donald J. Trump International Airport, formerly Palm Beach International Airport. For the 2026 “coverage season,” memberships cost $1,250, per person, per year — evacuation is promised for “two activated storms” each hurricane season. In 2026, the Atlantic hurricane season will run from June 1 to November 30.
To qualify for a membership and guarantee your flight out, you must live in a coverage county, meet special considerations (medical needs, mobility, pets, young kids, etc.) and share your household composition, according to the company’s website. You also have to have an active membership for all persons in your household who intend to take the flight.
“Members receive access to pre-contracted private aviation evacuation flights for their household during a major hurricane threat. Flights depart from assigned Florida airports aboard Airbus A320 aircraft and relocate members to Atlanta before landfall,” reads the company’s website. “Program activation is tied to objective National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast thresholds — the same data relied upon by FEMA and state emergency management agencies.”
When is evacuation triggered?
An evacuation will be activated when there are both timing and severity triggers, per the company website.
For timing, there needs to be a 40% probability of “tropical-storm-force winds” at one of the departing airports, a NHC Hurricane Watch, or an earliest available arrival time under 72 hours for the evacuating flight.
For severity, if there is a category 1 hurricane declaration or higher, or a NHC Forecast Advisory predicting a category 2 storm within the next 48 hours, then an evacuation will be activated.
Members would then arrive at their assigned airport during a check-in window and board a flight to Atlanta. Any continuing flights or accommodations made in Atlanta are up to the members.
PriorityEvac is contracted with GlobalX to keep a fleet of Airbus 320s on retainer.
“So upon our call, our activation, they reposition those aircraft to the requisite airports that are needed, and those aircraft are available for our members,” company founder Jason Murgio told WSB-TV in Atlanta. “The trigger system that we developed is objective and binary. It’s not a judgment call.”
Florida airports PriorityEvac members can fly from
According to the company’s website, the list includes:
When is Atlantic hurricane season, and what’s Florida’s risk?
The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season will last from June 1 to November 30.
According to Colorado State University’s April 9 seasonal forecast, there is a 74% probability that a named storm will pass within 50 miles of Florida’s coast and a 21% chance that a major hurricane could do the same during the 2026 hurricane season.
South Florida is particularly at risk of hurricanes this year, according to CSU. Monroe County, home of the Florida Keys, for instance, has the highest chance of seeing a hurricane come within 50 miles, while Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach are also among the top 10 counties at risk of being affected.
How to know if you live in an evacuation zone
The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) maintains a zone lookup map that allows users to enter their addresses and determine what evacuation zone they live in, if any.
Most likely to require evacuation, in addition to high-risk zones, are low-lying, flood-prone areas, mobile homes and unsafe structures, according to the FDEM.
Stay informed. Get weather alerts via text
The USA Today Weather Watch team will keep you informed of any evacuations if you’ve signed up to receive alerts.
Also remain aware of and heed warnings issued by local officials.
Sarah Perkel is a South Florida Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY. Irene Wright covers Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA TODAY’S Deep South Connect Team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach company sells guaranteed hurricane evacuation flights
Reporting by Irene Wright, Sarah Perkel and Maya Washburn, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Irene Wright, Sarah Perkel and Maya Washburn, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
