Berkshire Hathaway has sold all of its shares within the four largest US airlines, company owner Billionaire Warren Buffett said.
Speaking at the annual shareholders’ meeting, Mr Buffett said “the world has changed” due to the coronavirus.
He then said he had been wrong to finance in the airline industry.
Mr Buffett’s comments came just hours after Berkshire Hathaway announced a record $50bn (£40bn) net half-moon loss, Reuters reported.
The conglomerate had an 11% stake in Delta Air Lines, 10% of American Airlines, 10% of Southwest Airlines, and 9% of United Airlines, as stated by the company’s annual report and filings. In 2016, the firm started financing in the four airlines, after avoiding the aviation industry for years.
Mr Buffett told the meeting, which was held virtually: “We made that decision in terms of the airline business. We took money out of the business basically even at a substantial loss.
“We will not fund a company that… where we think that it is going to chew up money in the future.”
The US travel industry has almost fell in due to the coronavirus outbreak, with airlines laying off hundreds of thousands of flights and taking thousands of planes out of service.
Mr Buffett said he had been taking into account in financing in additional airlines before the pandemic hit.
