NEW DELHI: Despite the sudden termination of the contract with Turkish-based ground handling firm, Celebi Airport Services Pvt Ltd, and urgent measures adopted on Thursday night, ground handling operations at the nine airports and the airlines it served remained smooth, said multiple sources across the country.The retention of the employees and the distribution of the workload among other ground handling agencies have facilitated the smooth transition.Nearly 7,800 employees of Celebi annually handled 5,40,000 tonnes of cargo for 54,000 flights at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Chennai, Goa, Ahmedabad and Kannur. The civil aviation ministry and airports have gone all out to ensure that passengers were not inconvenienced in any manner due to the sudden decision.A top official at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport told this newspaper, “We entrusted the responsibility to both AISATS (Tata owned Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd) and the Bird Group. Celebi’s staff has migrated to the new groups. We have not had any confusion at all.”A source at Indigo, India’s biggest airline, said, “Our ground handling operations across flights and airports were handled by our own subsidiary, Agile Airport Services. So, we were not impacted in any manner.” A Spicejet spokesperson said there was no major issue reported at any of the airports for its flights.An official at Chennai airport said, “There was limited usage of Celebi here as only Scoot, Spicejet, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Royal Brunei Airlines and US-Bangla airlines availed the services of the Turkish firm. They flew only few flights and have moved to other ground handlers.”The spokesperson of Bangalore International Airport Limited, which operates Kempegowda International Airport said, “All operations are fine here.” A source at Hyderabad airport too reported no glitches. Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu released a statement after the termination of the contract on Thursday night stating that he was personally monitoring the situation at all the airports. He assured the Ministry was going all out to ensure smooth operations.In an official statement in the aftermath of the termination, Celebi Aviation India said it is a professionally governed, globally operated aviation services company which has operated in India for 15 years. “Today, it is majority-owned (65%) by international institutional investors from across Canada, the US, the UK, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Western Europe.” Actera Partners II L P, a Jersey-registered fund, holds 50% ownership in Çelebi Havacılık Holding.The remaining 15% is held by Alpha Airport Services BV, a Dutch-registered entity.Meanwhile, Celebi India has reportedly moved a plea in Delhi High Court stating that it operates as an Indian entity, employing over 3,000 Indians, with management also led by Indian citizens, underscoring the substantial local workforce and leadership impacted by the Centre’s decision.Turkish firm moves court against India’s decisionA day after the Centre revoked its security clearance citing national security concerns, aviation services firm Celebi is reported to have approached the Delhi High Court challenging the decision. Celebi Airport Services India reportedly filed a petition in the Delhi High Court contesting the Centre’s decision, arguing that the cited security concerns lacked sufficient explanation, according to a Reuters report. This development was independently verified by this newspaper.
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