Airlines including American and United are slashing flights from New York as the region prepares for the worst weeks yet of the COVID-19 pandemic

• United Airlines and American Airlines announced massive cuts to its New York City-area flights, as the region braces for the worst weeks of the coronavirus outbreak.
• United was left with just 17 flights a day from Newark and LaGuardia - down from 460 the previous year.
• American was down to a total of 14 from LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark, one of which will be cut later this week, down from 270 last April.
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United Airlines and American Airlines announced major cuts to their New York metropolitan area flights over the weekend, just as the COVID-19 outbreak in the region is expected to near its apex.

United, which operates out of Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and LaGuardia Airport in Queens, planned to significantly pare down operations for "at least the next three weeks," United's Chief Operations Officer Greg Hart said in a memo to employees in the region.

Starting on Sunday, the airline reduced the total number of flights from Newark to just 15 per day, to a total of nine destinations. LaGuardia operations were cut to just two flights per day to one destination. In April 2019, the airline flew around 420 daily flights from Newark, and 40 from LaGuardia.

In the memo, Hart emphasized that customers still traveling to and from New York could still access virtually all of United's domestic network through connections. The airline is working with several nonprofit organizations to provide free flights for medical volunteers.

American Airlines similarly cut most of its New York services - the airline operates out of Newark and LaGuardia, as well as New York's JFK Airport.

Starting Tuesday, the airline will only operate eight flights from LaGuardia, three flights from JFK, and three flights from Newark, one of which will be suspended on Thursday. In a memo to staff, American's senior vice president of operations, David Seymour, wrote that the cuts would remain in effect through May 6.

In April 2019, the airline ran about 270 flights per day from the three airports.

Both airlines said in the memos that staff would receive pay and benefits if they lost work hours because of the cancellations.

Delta Air Lines operates heavily out of all three of the airports. As of Monday morning, the airline had not announced new service cuts to the region.

The CARES Act, the federal stimulus package, offers airlines payroll grants and loans. By accepting aid, airlines must commit to not laying off or furloughing staff before September 30. The law also requires airlines to maintain certain levels of connectivity.

New York State has more than 122,000 cases of COVID-19, and at least 4,159 deaths, making it the epicenter of the outbreak in the US as of April 6. The bulk of these cases are in New York City and surrounding areas.

The novel coronavirus outbreak has decimated the airline industry. Airlines have been forced to suspend routes, cancel flights, and ground planes as travel restrictions, border closures, and stay-at-home advisories lead to a near halt in air travel.

And get the latest coronavirus analysis and research from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is impacting businesses.