An airplane takes off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018.

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An airplane takes off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018.

Delta Air Lines, the biggest and most profitable U.S. airline, is reporting a $534 million loss for the first quarter, a setback that will appear trivial when the full force of the pandemic is revealed in the current quarter. 

Delta warned Wednesday that revenue during the April-through-June quarter, typically a period of harried travel, will plummet by 90% compared with last year, when there were no government travel restrictions and flights were full. CEO Ed Bastian said, ““These are truly unprecedented times for all of us.”