Were airlines price gouging during the emergency?

I just found this article via google. A couple talked about their experiences stranded at the New Orleans airport for days. True, they were JUST TOO SHIFTY to leave, but is the part about airline price gouging true? Was there any excuse for airlines not offering their lowest base rates just to get everyone out and all seats filled in advance of the hurricane?

With the opportunity to get out passing them by, and airline ticket prices
inflated up to $2,000 by those anxious to profit off the desperation of others,
the Sanderses decided to wait out the hurricane in the airport.

Oh wait. The article explains that their tickets were on United. The airline that screwed us out of the price of a ticket when they cancelled a flight - with the passengers waiting at the gate - during a blizzard in January. They claimed that they'd changed the rules the day before so that you couldn't get a refund for flights they cancelled if you bought the ticket too close to the cancellation. American Express cancelled the charge. United reinstated it. Screw them.