Airlines have been accused of cashing in on the disaster created by Hurricane Irma by hiking the prices of flights by thousands of dollars.

Airlines including United have been criticised on social media by passengers trying to evacuate destinations in the category 5 storm’s path, such as Florida in the US.

Florida governor Rick Scott has issued a state of emergency as Hurricane Irma is expected to hit Florida on September 9.

Hey @united this is price gouging. There was word you were going to add flights to help people get out of Miami, but this is ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/0qtEDKtEYb — Cindi Avila (@ChefCindi) September 6, 2017

As traffic clogged up roads in Key West, people wanting to leave Miami were quoted extortionate prices, such as more than $6,000 (£4,590) for a one-way trip from Miami to Atlanta with United. Another person looking to book found four flights at prices of more than $6,000 from Miami to Denver, also with United.

@thepointsguy is AA price gouging with Irma close?FLL-MSP flight quoted $190 at 8:00A. System failed to book. Finally got for $734 at 10:00A — Hectorfl72 (@hectorfl72) September 5, 2017

One Twitter user on Tuesday said he saw his potential flight from Florida to Minneapolis-St. Paul with American Airlines jump by more than $600 (£459), to a price of $734 in two hours.

These domestic flights would normally cost a fraction of the prices quoted, usually no more than a few hundred dollars.

People in America are stocking up on provisions in preparation for the arrival of the category 5 storm Credit: AFP/MICHELE EVE SANDBERG

Some prices shown on flight comparison sites, such as $3,000 for a Delta flight from Miami to Phoenix found by one Twitter user, Leigh Dow, on Expedia, was apparently remedied by Delta once Ms Dow spoke to the airline directly.

As anger mounted and the life-threatening storm grew closer, airlines Jet Blue, American and Delta put out statements saying that they were capping the prices on affected flights in response. The cap is expected to last until September 13.

Shame on you @delta. Jacking from $547 to over $3200 for people trying to evacute responsibly? #IrmaHurricane pic.twitter.com/O2nfPHQUAh — Leigh (@LeighDow) September 5, 2017

Jet Blue and American said it would cap fares at $99, Delta said its $399 cap included first class.

"We want those trying to leave ahead of the hurricane to focus on their safe evacuation rather than worry about the cost of flights," JetBlue spokesman Doug McGraw said.

United said in a statement to NBC news network that it "did not change how we priced our seats for flights out of Florida," but added that fares for the additional flights that it had put on to cope with the extra demand had been reduced "beyond what a regular last minute fare would be."

A look at United’s website on Thursday reveals that one-way flights from Miami to Atlanta are available from $1,142.

A satellite image of the hurricane Credit: AFP/HO

Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey called on the US Department of Transportation yesterday to launch an investigation into potentially opportunistic fare hikes by airlines.

"It would certainly be offensive if airlines – who rely on publicly supported infrastructure and have been bolstered by American taxpayers for nearly a century – used this opportunity to impose unconscionable costs on consumers," they wrote in a letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

Pam Bondi, Florida’s attorney general, said the state had received more than 1,500 calls on its price-gouging hotline in the last two days, mostly relating however to the prices of water, food and petrol.





