UPS suspends ‘My Choice’ re-delivery fees for Hurricane Irma evacuees

With Hurricane Irma evacuees from Florida dispersed across the Southeastern United States and beyond, UPS has suspended its re-delivery fees for its My Choice customers, so that displaced residents can redirect their deliveries to their temporary address, free of charge.

By suspending its fees, UPS joins other companies such as Jet Blue and Airbnb.com that are opting not to capitalize on surge demand for services. As an increasing number of business and pricing decisions are made by algorithms, this decision by UPS underscores the importance of social and environmental considerations.

“We know that receiving critical shipments via UPS is an important part of disaster recovery, but many homes and businesses are under evacuation or uninhabitable,” UPS public relations manager Jim Mayer told Air Cargo World. “As part of UPS’ commitment to supporting the areas enduring Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey, UPS is waiving the fee for Premium UPS My Choice service in the U.S. for 30 days from activation.”

Redirected packages need to be directed toward areas that are not under a current evacuation.  Customers in Florida that relocated due to Hurricane Irma would be able to have UPS shipments redirected to their temporary address, free of charge.

As Irma slowly dissipates into a tropical depression later today, after its two-week, destructive journey across the Atlantic and Caribbean,  UPS has maintained its suspension of operations that was declared well in advance of the storm in Florida and portions of Georgia and South Carolina, enabling its employees to secure their homes and protect their families.

Many of the Atlanta-based integrator’s employees live in areas that are under mandatory evacuation or a state of emergency – including Atlanta itself, which is currently under its first-ever official Tropical Storm Warning, despite its inland location. In Florida, an estimated 6 million residents are still without power as of this afternoon.

“We continue to closely monitor Hurricane Irma, developing and implementing contingency plans that help ensure shipments arrive at their final destinations as quickly as conditions permit,” UPS said.