It's no secret that airlines have been hit hard during this pandemic. With the fear of flying being at an all-time high due to COVID-19, many airports are desolate. If you have tried to book a flight recently you were probably pleasantly surprised at the low fares you were able to score. Turns out our financial win isn't a win for several airline companies. One company in particular claims that they will be forced to furlough 19,000 employees unless the government jumps in and bails them out again.

American Airlines released a memo to their entire staff on Tuesday letting them know that they would be forced to furlough up to 19,000 employees on October 1st. American Airlines went on to say that the only way employees would not be furloughed would be if Congress chose to extend the CARES Act's payroll support program.

According to Business Insider, American Airlines received an astonishing $5.8 billion in payroll support through the CARES Act. "The airline agreed not to furlough or cut pay for workers until October 1 in exchange for the aid."

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said "Today is the hardest message we have had to share so far," They announced that the furloughs included 1,500 management and support workers and a whopping 17,500 front-line employees. The frontline workers include roughly 1,600 pilots, 8,100 flight attendants, and 2,225 employees in the fleet service.

Read More: WHAT IS IN SHORT SUPPLY DURING THE PANDEMIC?

More From K945, The Hit Music Channel