CAG report on CWG: AI slammed, Half tickets remained unsold

New Delhi, Aug 6: The CAG report held Air India responsible of causing a loss of Rs 200 crore and also revealed that half of the 2010 CWG tickets were left unsold.

"As compared to the previous two CWG - Manchester 2002, Melbourne 2006 - the ticket sales for the Games were poor, while the percentage of complimentary tickets was nearly three times that of earlier Games," said the CAG report.

"There were also a large number of unsold tickets," it added.

Ticketing was the third largest source of revenue the country could benefit from the CWG. The CAG report unveiled the truth that 1,412,000 seats were available and off these only 561,000 (40 percent) were sold. Around 495,000 lakh , 35 percent were distributed free, while around 356,000-25 percent were not sold.

"This dismal performance was attributable to a critically delayed appointment of the ticketing consultant and the ticketing agency, inadequate marketing, low ticket sales and spectator attendance and excessive distribution of complimentary tickets (especially high value tickets), paradoxically coupled with reports of non-availability of tickets," said the report.

Meanwhile, the CAG report indicted AI of 'lack of foresight', causing a loss of Rs 200 crore. The loss happened due to the national carrier's plans to expand. The report also trounced AI for its decision to buy 50 Boeing aircraft's, while only 35 were enough in actuality.

OneIndia News