MIAMI - Florida law prohibits extreme price hikes for commodities such as food, water, hotels and lumber in the event of a potentially catastrophic storm like Hurricane Irma. But Florida law doesn't cover airlines tickets - that's up to federal regulators. And some people are shocked at what they call sky-high price-gouging.

  

Steve MacQueen was shocked to learn he had to pay $1,725 to fly his 87-year-old mother from Fort Myers to Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday. He says he understands "the price is always ghastly" when you buy at the last minute, but not this bad.

  

He paid anyway to make sure his mother could stay with his sister in North Carolina. He now lives in Vermont, but as a former Floridian, he says the looming storm terrifies him.