AI refuses to disclose losses from free tickets

The cash-strapped Air India may be looking for a bailout from tax payers’ money but is not ready to make public the details about free travel benefits it extends to various individuals and the expenditure on these freebies.

In an RTI reply,the national carrier has refused to make public names of people who have enjoyed free travel benefits on it and the costs saying it will be detrimental to its commercial interests.

“Disclosure of names of persons to whom such tickets were issued would be detrimental to the commercial interests of the company considering the fierce level of competition that is existing in the Aviation industry,” the loss making national carrier said in an RTI reply.