Need to escape hurricane? Company offers evacuation membership to ATL

Hurricane season is upon us, and while forecasts show it could be a quieter year (knock on wood!), there is still a chance a storm could make it's way toward Florida.

Hurricane season lasts from June 1 through November 30, and Tropical Storm Bertha is the second major storm of the 2026 season. The track of the storm and its intensity remain "highly uncertain," according to weather officials.

Most Floridians are used to having to prepare for a hurricane. Roads have designated evacuation routes, families have go-bags and plans for where they would drive, and homes along the coast are built on stilts to try and stay above rising stormy seas.

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Now, a Florida-based company is offering another option for evacuation — a spot on a chartered flight straight to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

What is PriorityEvac?

PriorityEvac, headquartered out of West Palm Beach, offers Floridians an annual subscription that guarantees a spot on an evacuation flight from one of six Florida airports to Atlanta.

The company says it is "built for the 72 hours that matter most" before a hurricane hits, and there are just five steps between when you enroll in the service to when you would be "wheels up."

"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," the company says on its 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."

Who can use PriorityEvac?

The company uses a membership model, meaning there is a $1,250 fee per person, per year for access to the flights. The membership guarantees evacuation for "two activated storms" each hurricane season.

It's also intended to help those that may not be able to evacuate through other routes.

It can take more than 30 hours to drive out of Florida using I-75 or I-95 northbound during large-scale evacuations, making it hard for older adults, families with young kids or those with multiple pets to make the journey, according to PriorityEvac.

A last-minute commercial flight can cost more than $2,000 and a self-chartered flight is more than $20,000 under hurricane conditions, the company said.

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. You also have to have an active membership for all persons in your household who intend to take the flight.

When is evacuation started?

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."

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 [email protected].

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Need to escape hurricane? Company offers evacuation membership to ATL