New Delhi: The market capitalisation of Turkish airport ground services company Celebi Hava Servisi has plunged by more than Rs 2,500 crore (USD 293 million) within two days, after India revoked security clearance for its Indian subsidiaries over national security concerns. The action came in response to Turkey’s public support for Pakistan during last week’s India-Pakistan conflict.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) on Thursday cancelled the security clearance of Celebi Airport Services India with immediate effect. The order impacts all of Celebi’s affiliated entities operating at Indian airports. In response, shares of the Istanbul-based company tumbled 10 per cent on Thursday and another 10 per cent on Friday on Borsa Istanbul, triggering multiple trading halts and wiping out a significant chunk of its market value.
Celebi vows legal fight
Reacting to the move, Celebi said it would pursue all legal and administrative avenues to challenge the Indian government’s decision. The company highlighted the critical role of its Indian operations, which contributed over one-third of its global revenue—USD 585 million—in 2024. Celebi said in a regulatory filing, “Our company will pursue all administrative and legal remedies to clarify these baseless allegations and reverse the orders imposed. Our subsidiaries have always complied with Indian laws and have never posed any threat to national security.”
In a bid to distance itself from political controversy, Celebi denied social media claims linking its ownership to Sumeyye Erdogan Bayraktar, daughter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It reiterated that the company is majority owned by international institutional investors and has no political affiliations. “Celebi Airport Services India is a truly Indian enterprise, led and managed by Indian professionals. It is not a Turkish organisation by any standards,” the firm said.
Operations halted across India,
Since its entry into India in 2009, Celebi has invested over USD 250 million (around Rs 2,100 crore) and employed more than 10,000 Indian workers. It operated across nine major Indian airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, through five subsidiaries. The largest among them, Celebi Airport Services India, provided ground handling at six airports.
With the revocation of security clearance, Celebi has suspended its operations in India. As a result, several Indian airports and airlines have begun shifting to alternative ground handling firms such as AI Airport Services, Air India SATS and the Bird Group. Celebi has moved the Delhi High Court seeking relief from the cancellation order, which is scheduled for hearing on Monday.
