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Turkish airport ground services firm Celebi has lost the interim protection that had prevented Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) from terminating its contract, an Indian court ruled on Wednesday.
The ruling comes as part of an ongoing legal dispute between the company and Indian authorities, following the revocation of Celebi’s security clearance on national security grounds in May.
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In a recent hearing, the Bombay High Court bench stated that the interim relief granted to Celebi in May could no longer be upheld, citing a July ruling by the Delhi High Court that dismissed a similar petition filed by the company regarding Delhi airport.
“The ad interim protection is vacated,” said Justice Sundaresan during the oral proceedings, according to Indian daily Mint. He explained that, since the Delhi High Court had already ruled against Celebi’s writ petition, continued protection in Mumbai would not aid the related arbitration process.
While the latest order allows MIAL to proceed with terminating Celebi’s services, other aspects of the dispute remain unresolved, as the company is also seeking to annul several related agreements terminated by MIAL.
The initial trigger for contract cancellations across Indian airports stemmed from a decision by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) to revoke Celebi’s security clearance. The move followed Türkiye’s public support for Pakistan and its criticism of India’s Operation Sindoor, which, according to the Delhi High Court, raised “compelling national security considerations.”
These developments led several Indian airports to terminate existing agreements with Celebi, which was also operating at Delhi Airport. The company has challenged the decisions through multiple legal channels, including the Supreme Court.
During the interim period granted by the Bombay High Court, MIAL transferred control of Celebi’s equipment and workforce to Indo Thai Airport Management Services Pvt. Ltd, which has since taken over ground-handling and bridge-mounted equipment services at Mumbai Airport. A new bidding process for a permanent ground-handling provider is currently underway.
Founded in 1958, Celebi Aviation is a leading Turkish airport ground services company operating in six countries with over 15,000 employees. Its operations in India accounted for a substantial portion of this workforce and activity. According to the company’s website, Celebi handled 58,000 flights and 540,000 tons of cargo in India, employing approximately 7,800 people.
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