India-Pakistan Conflict: The Mumbai and Ahmedabad Airports said on 15 May that they have terminated the ground handling concession agreements with Çelebi.

The move comes following the Government of India’s decision to revoke security clearance of Çelebi Airport Services India Ltd’, which is a subsidiary of Çelebi Aviation Holding, a Turkish company, over the company’s support for Pakistan.

Çelebi asked to hand over all ground handling

The airports said that Çelebi has been directed to immediately hand over to the company all ground handling facilities to ensure uninterrupted operations.

“Following the government of India’s decision to revoke Celebi’s security clearance, we have terminated the ground handling concession agreements with Celebi at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) and Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA),” a press note issued by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport said.
 

The move comes after Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) on Thursday formally ended ties with Turkish company Çelebi for ground handling and cargo operations at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), on the grounds of national security.

“Accordingly, Çelebi has been directed to immediately hand over to us all ground handling facilities to ensure uninterrupted operations,” the statement by Mumbai airport said adding, “We will continue to provide seamless service to all airlines without disruptions through new ground handling agencies selected by it.”

India’s Bureau of Civil Aviation Security under the Union Civil Aviation Ministry informed through a notification on 15 May about the ‘revocation of security clearance in r/o Çelebi Airport Services India Ltd’, which is a subsidiary of Çelebi Aviation Holding, a Turkish company.

The decision comes amid growing demand for boycotting the firm headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey — the country that sided with Pakistan in the recent escalation of tensions with India after the Pahalgam terror attack and ‘Operation Sindoor’.

“All existing employees of Çelebi at CSMIA and SVPIA will be transferred to the new ground handling agencies on their existing terms and conditions of employment,” the press statement by Mumbai said.

Turkey has been facing massive backlash over its support to Pakistan with a large number of Indian tourists cancelling trips to the country in the last few days.

“Ground handling operations at our airports will remain unaffected. We are fully committed to upholding the highest standards of service and national interest,” the media statement said.

Çelebi has presence at 9 airports in India – Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin, Kannur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Goa, Ahmedabad and Chennai. It provides ground handling as Çelebi Airport Services India and cargo services as Çelebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India at Delhi.

Not a Turkish organisation: Çelebi

Çelebi Aviation India has strongly refuted recent allegations circulating on social media regarding its ownership and operations in India as “misleading and factually incorrect”, amid growing controversy following the revocation of its security clearance by Indian authorities.

“We are not a Turkish organisation by any standard and adhere fully to globally accepted practices of corporate governance, transparency, and neutrality, with no political affiliations or links to any foreign government or individuals”, the official statement read.

In a detailed statement,Çelebi Aviation Indiaemphasised that it is a professionally governed, globally operated aviation services company with a majority ownership held by international institutional investors from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Western Europe