JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As hurricane season nears its peak, a new service is offering Floridians a way out before a storm hits, if they’re willing to pay for it.
Priority Evac is a membership service that offers customers a pre-secured seat on a flight out of Florida before certain hurricanes, with membership starting at $1,250.
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The company says the service is designed to help people avoid the packed highways, airport closures and last-minute scramble that can come with evacuating ahead of a major storm.
“We want to make sure that people have a plan prior to the storm, so you’re not thinking about it when it’s too late,” Priority Evac CEO Tim Houston told News4JAX.
Under the program, members work with a case manager who helps coordinate the evacuation. The company says customers are told which airport to use, where to meet the aircraft and are flown to Atlanta.
Priority Evac says it has not yet flown its first evacuation. The service is launching in South Florida, and the company says it has received interest from people concerned about evacuating elderly parents, college students, pets and those with medical needs.
Houston said the idea came from seeing people begin thinking about evacuation only after a storm is already approaching.
“People experience the storms and then that’s when they start thinking about evacuation,” he said.
The concept has also drawn some criticism online, with some questioning whether evacuation should be something people have to pay for.
One TikTok creator compared the service to the Titanic, saying first-class passengers were being prioritized over working-class passengers. The video was viewed over 1 million times. Another commenter called the concept “dystopian.”
Houston said the service is not intended to be an option for everyone.
“It’s a first-of-its-kind service, so it’s a new concept, but really it’s about being prepared,” he said. “It’s an option. It may not be for everybody, but I think there’s a lot of people in Florida that want this service.”
The company says its evacuation triggers are based on criteria from the National Hurricane Center.
Priority Evac is not currently offering flights out of Jacksonville.
Houston said the service is not intended to replace official hurricane evacuation orders or emergency management guidance. Instead, the company says it is designed to give members another option to leave before traditional evacuation routes become overwhelmed.
For Floridians who choose to evacuate, emergency officials continue to recommend having an evacuation plan in place before a storm threatens the area.