Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) has officially announced the termination of its association with Turkish airport ground handling company Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd and Chinese company DragonPass.

Chinese company DragonPass provides access to airport lounges, and its users were allowed to access lounges at all airports operated by AAHL until recently. However, according to the AAHL statement, these lounges will henceforth be inaccessible to DragonPass users.

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“DragonPass customers will no longer have access to lounges at Adani-managed airports. This change will have no impact on the airport lounge and travel experience for other customers,” an AAHL spokesperson stated.

After Turkey expressed solidarity with Pakistan when India launched Operation Sindoor in response to a terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) under the Union Civil Aviation Ministry revoked the security clearance of the Turkish ground handling services company Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd on Thursday, citing national security interests.

After the Union Civil Aviation Ministry’s action, other airport operators have announced breaking ties with the Turkish company Celebi. GMR Airports Ltd terminated its ground handling concession agreements with Celebi at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, while AAHL terminated its agreement with the Turkish company at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) and Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA).

“Celebi has been directed to immediately hand over to us all ground handling facilities to ensure uninterrupted operations. We will continue to provide seamless service to all airlines without disruptions through new ground handling agencies selected by us. All existing employees of Celebi at CSMIA and SVPIA will be transferred to the new ground handling agencies on their existing terms and conditions of employment,” the AAHL spokesperson said.

However, in an official statement, Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd refuted allegations regarding its ownership as well as operations in India. The Turkish company also refuted the claim that Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s daughter Sümeyye is a part-owner of the company. It said that nobody named Sümeyye owned any shareholding in the parent organisation, adding that members of the founding family have no political affiliations of any kind.

Celebi’s official statement claimed that it is majority-owned (65%) by international institutional investors from across Canada, US, UK, Singapore, UAE and Western Europe. It claimed that a Jersey-registered fund, Actera Partners II L.P., holds 50% ownership in Celebi Havacilik Holding.

While Celebi claimed that it is not a Turkish organisation by any standard, it also stated that the company was originally established in 1958 in Turkey, and the founding Celebioglu family, which holds 35% stakes in the company, is of Turkish origin. It claimed that Çelebi’s business in India is an Indian enterprise, led and managed completely by Indian professionals.

“In India, Celebi has proudly operated for over 15 years and is a key player in the private ground handling sector. We directly employ over 10,000 Indians, supporting the livelihood of thousands of families, and have contributed more than USD 220 million in long-term infrastructure investments. We operate at nine of India’s busiest airports and are an essential part of the nation’s aviation ecosystem,” Celebi’s official statement mentioned.