Hurricane Milton: Airlines hit back at price gouging accusations amid flight chaos

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “I’m calling on the airlines and other companies to provide as much service as possible to accommodate evacuations, and not to engage in price gouging — to just do it on the level,” Biden said after a hurricane briefing. Large U.S. airlines “are working diligently to accommodate customers impacted by Hurricane Milton,” said Hannah Walden, a spokesperson for the trade group Airlines for America. We are keeping a close eye on flights in and out of areas affected by Hurricane Milton to make sure airlines are not charging excessively increasing fares.” William McGee, a travel expert and advocate for the American Economic Liberties Project, which opposes big corporations, said his group has seen the comments on social media about airlines — especially United, Delta and American — raising prices as the hurricane approached Florida. open image in gallery Hurricane Milton, a heavy stream of evacuation traffic slowly moves “We’ve seen this with growing frequency in the deregulated era in response to natural disasters and terrorist attacks,” McGee said.