India revokes security clearance of Turkish airport ground handling services firm Çelebi

The Ministry of Civil Aviation said in an order on Thursday that it is revoking the security clearance of Çelebi Airport Services India Private Limited—the Indian arm of Turkish-origin ground handling and services firm Çelebi Aviation—in the interest of “national security,” deepening India’s ongoing strife with Turkey in the aftermath of the military confrontation with Pakistan.

Most notably, Çelebi handles cargo services at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi via a separate entity—Çelebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India. Its other entity, Çelebi Airport Services India Private Limited, manages ground handling services. The Ministry of Civil Aviation’s order does not specify whether the security clearance of the former has been revoked as well or not.

Çelebi’s journey in India started with a joint venture to provide ground handling and services at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. It has since expanded operations to seven different airports in India, which include the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, and the Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport in Ahmedabad, among others.

The scope of services that Çelebi provide to airports in India includes ramp services—which entail providing and maintaining ramps for passengers to disembark the aircraft—bridge operations, providing and upkeeping aerobridges that are used for boarding and deplaning aircraft. Additionally, it handles cargo and postal services, warehouse management—both operations that mandate security clearance due to the movement of sensitive and regulated cargo, and general aviation services, which involve managing private and VIP flights.

The decision comes at a time when there is a clarion call to boycott engagement with Türkiye, after the country openly supported Pakistan in the military confrontation it was embroiled in with India. Travel bookings to Türkiye and Azerbaijan—another country that has openly supported Pakistan—have sharply declined on MakeMyTrip (MMT), one of India’s leading online travel agencies (OTA), as Indian travellers react strongly to the countries' stance on the recent India-Pakistan tensions. The travel company reported a 60% fall in bookings for the two destinations over the past week, alongside a staggering 250% rise in cancellations.