Delta Air Lines Inc reported its first quarterly loss in eight years on Wednesday, as the coronavirus crisis caused serious damage to the aviation industry. The company said the recovery could take two to three years. “We need to be prepared for a difficult and slow recovery, even after the virus has been controlled”, said company’s CEO, Ed Bastian.

At the end of the quarter, passenger volume fell by as much as 95 percent, the company said. “This is certainly not the world we expected when the year began”, noted Ed Bastian.

The Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc reported a net loss of 534 million USD in the first quarter ended March 31, or 0.84 USD per share loss. For comparison, the company reported a net profit of 730 million USD over the same reporting period last year. The carrier’s management estimates a 90% drop in its revenue in the second quarter.

Delta’s total operating revenue fell by 18% to 8.59 billion USD in March.

Between April and June, Delta Air Lines lowers its flight schedule by about 85%, including an 80% reduction for domestic flights and 90% for international flights, which experts expect to recover the slowest.

The capacity cut – in addition to other measures, including pay cuts and unpaid leave – should slow the airline’s daily capital outflows to about 50 million USD by the end of June, the company said. Total costs are also expected to decline by about 50%, or 5 billion USD, in the second quarter.

Delta’s fuel costs were down by 19% year over year in the first quarter.

Delta is among the first companies to receive government support to cover payments for six months, provided it does not fire employees by October and retains a certain number of flights.

The carrier received half of the 5.4 billion USD in aid Monday, and the rest will be transferred in April, May, and June.

The airline also said it was considering applying for an additional 4.6 billion USD in secured government loans under the stimulus package known as the CARES Act.