People Flee To NJ Ahead Of Hurricane Milton; Plane Tickets Scarce

NEW JERSEY — A large rush of people in Florida have been trying to escape to New Jersey ahead of Hurricane Milton, with reports of scarce flights and soaring ticket prices adding to the turmoil.

The dangerous storm – which has been vacillating between a Category 4 and Category 5 hurricane – is expected to reach land on Wednesday. Weather forecasters and officials have been sounding the alarm in Florida, where a state of emergency has been declared for more than 50 counties. Mandatory evacuations for several zones went into effect Monday. Read More: Hurricane Milton 'One Of Strongest' Gulf Storms With 180 MPH Winds

As might be expected, the hurricane has been causing chaos at Florida airports. Some will close or suspend operations – including the airports in Tampa and Orlando – and others plan to monitor the storm and take action if necessary.

More than 1,000 flights across the U.S. have been canceled so far on Tuesday, according to Flightaware.com. Several airlines are letting passengers headed to or from Florida change their tickets for no extra charge, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.

Many travelers have been reporting that finding a plane ticket has been incredibly difficult as they try to flee Florida for other states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Some of them include Garden State natives who were on vacation or attending college when the hurricane warnings started going out.

Residents of Edison, Maplewood, Stewartsville and River Vale were among them, telling News 12 New Jersey that they managed to find tickets back home – but only after scrambling and lucking out. One passenger said that his flight was about $600, a big jump from what the cost was before the hurricane warnings began.

Some travelers have paid up to six times the average ticket price, iHeartRadio reported, with even higher prices being reported on social media.

The fallout from Milton comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene – the second-deadliest to hit the U.S. mainland – left Florida and several other Southeastern states in shambles and in mourning for their dead.

• See Related: 215 Dead, 900K Powerless, Biden Visits FL, GA: Hurricane Helene

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