India revokes Celebi security clearance after Turkey's support for Pakistan

The development comes against the backdrop of Turkiye backing Islamabad and condemning India's recent strikes on terror camps in Pakistan.

New Delhi: In what is being seen as a retaliatory measure against Turkiye following its backing of Pakistan, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) on Thursday revoked the security clearance of Turkish company ‘Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd’ offering ground handling services at nine airports, including in Bengaluru, in the “interest of national security”.

The BCAS order came days after Turkiye backed Islamabad and condemned India’s Operation Sindoor, which started with a strike on nine terror camps in Pakistan. The drones launched by Pakistan on a large-scale targeting Indian towns were also sourced from Turkiye, officials said.

Celebi Airport Services India is part of Turkiye-based Celebi, which offers services at nine airports -- Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin, Kannur, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Goa, Ahmedabad and Chennai.

“The security clearance in r/o Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd under the category Ground Handling Agency was approved by DG, BCAS on 21 November, 2022. In the exercise of power conferred upon DG, BCAS, the security clearance in r/o Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd is hereby revoked with immediate effect in the interest of national security,” the order said.

In a statement, Celebi Aviation India refuted “all misleading and factually incorrect allegations” on social media that it is a Turkish company. It said it is “truly an Indian enterprise, led and managed by Indian professionals…We are not a Turkish organisation by any standard...with no political affiliations or links to any foreign government or individuals”.

It also said Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s daughter Sumeyye is “not part owner” and that she has no shares in the parent organisation. It also said the Turkish shareholding in the parent company is limited to Can Celebioglu and Canan Celebioglu with 17.5% each shareholding.

Soon after BCAS order, Delhi International Airport Ltd severed ties with Celebi entities responsible for ground handling and cargo operations and said it is working closely with existing service providers --AISATS, and Bird Group -- to ensure uninterrupted operations while safeguarding employee welfare. In the case of cargo operations, a statement said, DIAL is working towards onboarding one of the pre-approved cargo handlers to ensure uninterrupted cargo operations.

Earlier when asked about Celebi, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said, "we will take a decision in the interest of the nation. This is a security aspect. We are talking to the security agencies also. We will see what decision needs to be taken."

The BCAS action comes in the midst of a campaign by a section for boycotting Turkish goods and tourism in the wake of Turkiye's backing of Pakistan.

Celebi's website said its presence in India grew exponentially with three different entities. "Celebi’s first step into India started off with a joint venture with a mandate to provide comprehensive and world class services at Mumbai International Airport. Within a year, Celebi was registered in India to provide ground handling as Celebi Airport Services India and cargo services as Çelebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India at Delhi International Airport," it said.

Within the last 10 years, it said these two stations have grown to become a total of nine stations in India.

Following the April 22 Pahalgam terror strike that killed 26 people, India targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 7. Later, Pakistan launched strikes at India following which Turkiye along with Azerbaijan backed Pakistan and condemned India's strikes under ‘Operation Sindoor’.