Indian government has revoked security clearance for Turkish company Celebi Airport Services at nine major airports, including Delhi and Mumbai.
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00:00Indians are saying enough is enough. Big story coming in on India First. It's an India Today impact.
00:10The government has seen the anger on the streets of our country against Turkey.
00:16The government of India has decided to revoke the security clearance of Turkish firm Celebi.
00:23The Celebi airport services in India will no longer have access to nine critical and crucial airports in the interest of national security.
00:35That is what government decision says. It's a big move against Turkey for supporting Pakistan-sponsored terrorism that has fled our country.
00:43So, nine of the ten busiest airports in India, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Cochin.
00:55Imagine nine of the ten amongst the busiest airports in India were largely being serviced by a Turkish company called Celebi.
01:05And whether it was cargo handling or ground operations handling, it was being done by this agency.
01:10So, the Ministry of Civil Aviation now says that tenders will soon be issued at these nine airports where Celebi currently operates to appoint new ground handlers and cargo handlers.
01:22The affected airports are making interim arrangements because now that security clearance has been revoked, Celebi employees will not get access to these airports.
01:32Arrangements are being made to hire alternate ground handling agencies.
01:38I want to get you more on this story.
01:40Can you imagine?
01:41Can you imagine? It's a Turkish company, a country that's hostile to India.
01:46Incidentally, Celebi is managed in parts by Erdogan's daughter, who's married to the manufacturers and the family of the manufacturers of the Bayraktar radar,
02:00the unmanned combat aerial vehicles, the TB2s that Turkey is selling to Pakistan, those armed drones that are bleeding India.
02:08That is how this nexus is operating.
02:11How was it even permitted to operate in India for so long remains the big question.
02:17I also want to cut across and bring in India Today's Nagarjun Dwarkanath, who joins us with more on this story.
02:24Nagarjun, bring us details.
02:26Nine airports of this Turkish company where this Turkish company was handling cargo and ground operations.
02:33Nine crucial airports, including Delhi and Mumbai.
02:36What does revoking the security clearance translate into action on ground?
02:42What more can you tell us?
02:44Gaurav, in the last few years, a Turkish company called Celebi was handling the ground crew movements and also technical support in major airports like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad.
02:55Nine such busiest airports in the country were handled by this Turkish company called Celebi.
02:59After what has happened in Operation Sindhur and how Turkey stood by the Pakistan armed forces and we have taken a stand that the security clearance given to this Turkish company has been revoked right now.
03:13It's by the Bureau of Civilization Authority.
03:15What happens is that BCAS issues airport entry passes to every person who's working within the terminal or who are working in the close proximity of the aircraft.
03:24There's something called AEP, which is the airport entry pass.
03:28Once you revoke that entry pass, no person without this AEP pass can enter the airport vicinity or inside the terminal.
03:36At this point of time, the security cover granted to Celebi has been revoked,
03:39which means that the employees working under this company cannot enter the airport premises or terminal.
03:45Hence, to put it plain that they can't be working, so hence the work will stop immediately.
03:50Airports have been told to take in midterm measures in terms of ground handling to immediately take in help from other companies as well
03:58till a tender has been floated and a new tender will be awarded to another company.
04:03This is a move given out by the Civilization Ministry and executed by the BCAS.
04:07DG of BCAS has executed.
04:09This is what we are told.
04:10And hence, Celebi employees' airport entry passes and also their work will come to stand immediately.
04:17You know, there are questions at multiple levels.
04:19Turkey has been openly hostile to India for a very long time.
04:23You know, out of the goodness of our hearts, we help a country in an earthquake.
04:28We look after their people.
04:29It remains hostile to India.
04:31It just shows, you know, what their attitude is, what our attitude is.
04:35But I want to understand, one, why did they have access to nine crucial airports in India?
04:39And two, there are reports that seem to indicate that retired Turkish Air Force pilots are employed in India,
04:47flying for private airlines or they're flying in some crucial sectors.
04:51That's a huge security lapse.
04:54They could be landing at sensitive military stations, military airports.
04:57Why would we permit retired Turkish Air Force officers operating in India?
05:03Well, that's a big question, Gaurav.
05:04In fact, how did Celebi get access to nine airports and ground handling in such busiest airports?
05:09Like, all the movements of VIPs happens in Delhi airport and they had access to who's coming, who's going, which flight is landing.
05:16And there were access to the flight engineering works also.
05:20What were the spare parts coming in?
05:21And every information that ground handlers could have, Celebi company had access to it.
05:26Like, the big question is, how did the tender go to them a few years back?
05:30That was the question that the government will have to answer.
05:32But it seems like the tender was floated and Celebi had won this or got awarded this tender a few years back.
05:38And now the government has woken up that how can a foreign company, especially a hostile company,
05:42also a country like a turkey and a company like Celebi have access to nine such crucial airports in India.
05:48Nevertheless, now the government has acted and has stopped their complete work right now and fresh tenders will soon be called.
05:54Oh, absolutely.
05:56Because even if there were L1 in the tendering process, a hostile country will anyways give you the lowest quote to get that contract
06:05because that's how they'll snoop on you.
06:08Why aren't countries like Turkey banned remains that big question because they are so openly hostile to India.
06:14They don't even hide their hostility.
06:16And it hasn't just stemmed here.
06:19It happens year on year on year.
06:21Whether it's at the United Nations General Assembly, their open friendship with Pakistan,
06:26their arming Pakistan against India,
06:29their attitude at the nuclear suppliers group blocking India's growth,
06:33their tango with Pakistan and China.