A new preparedness option has arrived.
Credit: PriorityEvac
Florida hurricane prep has long involved shutters, generators, bottled water and the annual question of whether to stay or get out. A newly launched company is adding another option to the list: a pre-arranged flight to Atlanta.
PriorityEvac has launched what it calls Florida’s first membership-based hurricane air evacuation program, giving residents and seasonal homeowners access to flights before a qualifying storm shuts down airports, sells out commercial seats or sends drivers into highway gridlock.
The annual membership costs $1,250 per person and covers the June 1 through November 30 hurricane season, with access to up to two qualifying hurricane evacuations and no per-event activation fees or storm-related surge pricing. Household enrollment and optional pet coverage are also available.
Flights operated by Global Crossing Airlines depart from six Florida airports, including Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Miami International Airport and Palm Beach International Airport. Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers are also covered. All flights head to Atlanta, where members can arrange onward travel, rental cars or lodging.
Founder Jason Murgio said the idea first began taking shape after watching friends struggle to leave Florida ahead of hurricanes.
“There are a lot of people who elect to leave, but they don’t know when and they don’t know how,” Murgio told Browardist. “That’s really what we’re trying to address.”
Unlike booking a last-minute commercial flight, PriorityEvac’s model is built around aircraft capacity secured in advance. Activations are based on objective National Hurricane Center forecasting criteria, with former National Hurricane Center Lead Forecaster Wallace Barnes serving as the company’s chief meteorologist.
When those thresholds are met, members are assigned a case manager to help coordinate the evacuation. PriorityEvac has also partnered with Project DYNAMO, a Florida-based veteran-led nonprofit specializing in rescue, evacuation and disaster response.
“This is a preparedness product,” Murgio said. “It is something that, when you need it, will become invaluable because it’s not available.”
That preparation extends beyond the flight. Members receive a guidebook outlining Atlanta hotel options, rental car providers, car services, train schedules and onward flights. Murgio said Atlanta was selected because it typically sits outside Florida’s primary hurricane impact corridor while offering one of the country’s largest transportation hubs.
The program currently serves 12 counties across Florida’s east and west coasts and has an initial capacity of approximately 5,000 members for the 2026 season.
Murgio emphasized that the service is designed as another evacuation option rather than a replacement for government emergency operations.
“Every person you remove removes strain from that system — one less car on the road, one less fuel tank, one less lodging accommodation,” he said. “It is never meant to replace public evacuation options or FEMA, but it is something for people who want to be prepared and have a preplanned route that’s done by professionals.”
And Florida may be only the beginning. Murgio said future expansion could include the Panhandle, Texas and other areas along the southern Atlantic coast, with the company also exploring whether its proactive model could eventually apply to disasters such as wildfires.
“My goal was to help people, help save lives,” Murgio said. “If I could help develop something that bettered the community and the people involved, that’d be great.”
PriorityEvac is currently accepting applications for its 2026 membership waitlist, with enrollment subject to capacity and available evacuation inventory by region.
