GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands – Cayman Airways has lowered its fares for Caymanians and travelers in south Florida so they can come home or avoid the ravages of Hurricane Irma.

One way fares to Cayman have been reduced to $69 with no change fee and no baggage fee.

“As a government we need to make every effort to get people home and safe from harm’s way,” said Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin. “It is our obligation and our mission.”

The flights will be Friday, 8 September, 2017. There will be one flight from Tampa and two from Miami. There will be additional flights added if needed. The Miami airport will remain operational until winds reach 35mph.

“We expect the Miami airport will be closed on Saturday, so we need to get our people home tomorrow,” said Deputy Premier and Minister for District Administration, Tourism and Transportation Hon. Moses Kirkconnell. “There are already mandatory evacuation orders in place in South Florida, so we need to do all we can to help.”

Hurricane Irma is on a path to slam Miami as a Category 4 storm late Saturday or Sunday.

Irma has already battered the tiny island of Barbuda and left thousands homeless on the island territories of St. Bart and St. Martin, where local officials said about 95 per cent of the island was completely demolished after Wednesday’s thrashing by the Category 5 storm.

“If you’re told to evacuate, get out quickly,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned Thursday. “Based on what we now know, Miami-Dade will have major hurricane impacts with deadly storm surge, deadly storm surge and life-threatening winds. Look at the size of this storm. It’s huge. It’s wider than our entire state and could cause major and life-threatening impacts on both costs; coast to coast.”

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IMAGE; Visible-wavelength satellite image of Hurricane Jose at 11:45 am EDT Thursday, September 7, 2017. Image credit: RAMMB / CIRA@CSU.