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Coronavirus: Delta says airline will push on despite billionaire selling off stake in company

ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines said it’s still moving forward after one of the country’s biggest investors sold all of his shares in the company.

Not enough people are flying, and that prompted mega investor, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, to sell $4 billion worth of airline stock.

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His company owned 11% of Delta Air Lines.

“The world changed for airlines, and I wish them well,” Buffett said.

A spokesperson for Delta told WSB-TV that they believe in the company, its people and its brand, and they will get through this.

But they know it will be tough until travelers are ready to hop back on a plane.

WSB-TV consumer adviser Clark Howard said it was a major blow to Delta, the state’s largest private employer.

“His vote of no-confidence is another nail in the coffin for airlines,” Howard said.

To win back that confidence, carriers are now requiring passengers and crew to wear protective masks.

But the flight attendants’ union wants to ban leisure travel until national safety measures are in place.

“Because the flights have been pulled down, we’re seeing more and more full flights without policies that really address proper social distancing,” said Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants.

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Monique Biddle of Smyrna, Georgia told WSB-TV that she has no problems flying. In fact, she’s booked a July trip for her entire family.

"When we see travel come back, that's when we know the economy is coming back," Biddle said.

A Delta spokesperson also told WSB-TV that the airline would endure as a better, stronger and more resilient airline in the future.

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