Thousands of travelers scrambled to come back home to New Jersey Monday evening as Hurricane Milton threatened the Gulf Coast.

Some people paid six times more than the average cost of a flight to New Jersey from Florida. Several others were anxiously waiting on standby for any seats to open up.

Andy Kozma, of Edison, is among the fortunate few who were able to get on a flight from Key West— cutting his vacation short.

“All flights are full,” said Kozma. “Everywhere is standby. We’re just glad to have a seat.”

Like Kozma, Emma Anmol Singh, of Stewartsville, ended her vacation in the Sunshine State early. She only had one day of rest and relaxation as the waves threatened her beach stay.

“The storm was really picking up when we left. We were lucky to get a flight out,” said Singh. “We had to leave at 5 a.m. The roads were pretty bad. There was a lot of traffic and the airport obviously was already packed.”

According to a public statement by Tampa International Airport, commercial and cargo operations will be suspended Tuesday at 9 a.m. The airport will not be staffed for emergency services or supplies.

A statement on Orlando International Airport’s website states the airport will remain open to accept emergency aid and relief flights as necessary; however, commercial flights will stop on Wednesday.

Grayson Thompson, of Maplewood, a Florida Southern freshman received a message from his lacrosse coach warning him of the threat of the Category 5 hurricane.

“I booked a flight way early. I think I got a text Friday. This was the first flight I could get on,” said Thompson. “I had to take two connections, but now I’m home that’s all that matters.”

Austin Koolery, of River Vale, a University of Tampa senior, also was able to get out of the state safely. His mother began looking flights up as soon as she saw how devastating Hurricane Milton could be.

“She’s like, ‘Alright let me look at flights Tuesday. $150 Tuesday and $400 on Monday,’” said Koolery. “Ten minutes went by and she’s like. ‘They closed the airport on Tuesday. I’m getting you a Monday flight, you’re getting out of there.’ I got lucky.”

Koolery said his flight cost about $600 and he hasn’t heard from his airline about any emergency assistance.

While one lawsuit seeking to force the start of New York’s $15 congestion fee to enter lower Manhattan is moving forward, an attorney in New Jersey’s separate case to stop the fee has nudged a judge for a ruling.

Attorney Randy Mastro wrote U.S. District Court Senior Judge Leo M. Gordon on Friday informing him that a potential decision in a New York Superior Court case challenging New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s indefinite pause of the June 30 congestion pricing plan would mean the tolling plan could start.

And that affects New Jersey’s suit, filed in July 2023, that was the subject of oral arguments in Newark in April. New Jersey’s suit seeks to overturn federal approvals that allowed congestion pricing to proceed. At the end of those hearings, Gordon said he planned to render a decision before the June 30 start date, but Hochul’s unexpected announcement bought some time.

New Jersey Senate candidate Curtis Bashaw, a Republican, appeared to freeze on Sunday during his debate against Democrat Rep. Andy Kim.

Bashaw, 63, and Kim, 42, are each looking to fill the Senate seat vacated by Democrat Bob Menendez, who resigned earlier this year following his indictment in a political corruption case.

The GOP candidate stopped speaking mid-sentence during his comments about affordability and appeared to look off into space.

Kim, a two-term U.S. Congressman who defeated Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy’s wife to secure the party’s nomination, was the first to rush over and check on Bashaw after noticing something was wrong.

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Bashaw told Kim he was alright, and the Democrat returned to his podium.

The debate then took a commercial break, so Bashaw could be checked on. He left the room for about 10 minutes.

“I think maybe we need to take a commercial break and address some issues here on the stage,” the moderator told the audience.

Bashaw addressed the issue when he returned to the stage.

Kim was the first to rush over and check on Bashaw. (New Jersey Globe)

“I got so worked up about this affordability issue that I realized I hadn’t eaten so much food today,” Bashaw said. “So I appreciate your indulgence.”

He wrote on social media after the debate: “Thank you all for the well wishes! I was out campaigning all day, and I never stopped to get a bite to eat. Excited to eat pizza with my fantastic volunteers at the post-debate party tonight!”

In a follow-up post on the social media platform X, Bashaw said the pizza was secured. “Thanks for your support, everyone!” he wrote.

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Bashaw said he was out campaigning all day and had not had the chance to eat much. (New Jersey Globe)

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Bashaw’s campaign also told Fox News Digital that the Republican candidate was okay and just needed some food.

“Curtis is fine! He was on the campaign trail all day and didn’t get a chance to eat,” a campaign spokesperson said. “He stepped off-stage and had a protein bar and some Coke and came back to debate five minutes later. Even having not eaten all day, Curtis was still able to eat Andy Kim’s lunch tonight!”