Expedia chairman Barry Diller said government bailouts are
necessary for all businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
Asked specifically what he thought about the airline bailout
on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Thursday morning, Diller responded, “Necessary. Full
stop.”
“Look, you’ve got to bail everyone out. ... Everybody is in
the same position, which is the world stopped, worldwide,” he said. “The damage that is being done every day is enormous. Everybody
needs to be bailed out -- and we’ll worry about paying the bills later.”
In order for society to return to normal, including travel,
Diller said people have to become comfortable being physically close to each
other again, whether or not they are tested for coronavirus before getting on a
plane.
“At some point, everybody has to be comfortable being a foot
away from other people,” he said.
Diller said he is “optimistic” that travel will return to
normal demand levels, but that likely won’t happen until the latter part of the
year, perhaps sometime between September and December.