United Airlines Holding Inc. (UAL  ) announced on Wednesday that they would be cutting their flight schedule by 90% in May and that they would likely make similar cuts in June, as well. The company warned employees to brace for job cuts with travel demands sitting "essentially at zero" and showing "no sign of improving in the near term".

Travel across the country and the world has come to a halt as the globe battles the coronavirus pandemic. Airlines are among the hardest hit by the lockdown. United reported that they flew less than 200,000 passengers in the first half of April, a drop of 97% from last year's 6 million flown in the same time period. The airline says they expect to fly fewer passengers in the entire month of May than it did in a single day in May in 2019.

"We believe that the health concerns about COVID-19 are likely to linger which means even when social distancing measures are relaxed, and businesses and schools start to reopen, life won't necessarily return to normal," Chief Executive Oscar Munoz and President Scott Kirby said in a memo to employees released to the public.

The airline is expected to accept $5 billion in government payroll support through the CARES Act, but this restricts the company's ability to furlough its employees. Under the CARES Act, United is barred from issuing involuntary furloughs until September 30. The airline has said they expect to cut payroll after that date and that they will be offering new voluntary leave packages to employees in the coming weeks as well as voluntary separation programs.

According to Reuters, more than 20,000 United employees have so far volunteered for unpaid leave. Other airlines including Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL  ) and American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL  ) will also making efforts to cut payroll costs.

United is one of several airlines considering a separate $25 billion federal loan package for U.S. passenger airlines.

Among flights still being offered by United are daily services from Chicago to London, Newark to Amsterdam, and Washington to Frankfurt, and three flights per week between Houston and Buenos Aires. Daily flights begin May 4 and the weekly flights start May 5. Flights will still be offered between the U.S. and Frankfurt, Brazil, Sydney, Tokyo, and Tel Aviv. Cargo and repatriation flights will continue.

Flights being canceled include planned seasonal service from Newark to Prague, Stockholm, Palermo, and Reykjavik.