Major airports are operating normally following Celebi’s ban

The more than 10,000 Çelebi workers have been distributed among temporary handlers. Of them, about 35–40% have joined Bird Group, while the remaining ones have been assigned to AISATS and AIASL.

May 19, 2025
7:21 am

Because of the government regulation requiring airports that handle more than one crore passengers annually to have at least three ground handling agencies (GHA), the majority of the nine airports from which Turkiye’s Celbi was prohibited were unaffected. Celebi’s work was overseen by other ground handlers. Airport operators will now release tenders seeking bids for a third GHA as a temporary solution. Since the Turkish company was the only joint venture, Goa (Mopa) was an exception in this case. For the time being, GMR Group has established other arrangements.

Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Cochin are among the other eight airports that requested assistance from the other GHAs. Air India Airport Services Ltd. (AIASL), Air India SATS Airport Services (AISATS), Bird Group’s Bird Flight Services (BFS), and Agile Airport Services (of IndiGo) are a few of the top GHAs in India.

Via these businesses, Air India and IndiGo mostly do their own self-handling. Smaller local and international airlines are served by other GHAs. For example, non-airline GHAs in Delhi may handle between one and one and a half crore passengers a year. For other airports, this continues to decrease. Airport operators contacted the top GHAs after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) order revoked security clearance to Celebi and its affiliated entities.

Celebi’s handover was completed in a day. The more than 10,000 Çelebi workers have been distributed among temporary handlers. Of them, about 35–40% have joined Bird Group, while the remaining ones have been assigned to AISATS and AIASL.

A few problems occurred, primarily related to administrative issues and with communication with individuals who were added to their rolls overnight. Nonetheless, GHAs report that operations have stabilized and that no flight delays or passenger disruptions have been detected. To maintain service continuity and regulatory compliance, current handlers will function in a nonprofit, support-only capacity until a third GHA is selected.