Amid rising regional hostilities in South Asia, India has banned a Turkish firm from operating at its airports after Türkiye expressed support for Pakistan. The move follows the severing of ties between a number of Indian academic institutions and Turkish universities.
After deadly exchanges between India and Pakistan in recent weeks, Türkiye, like Azerbaijan, had backed calls for an investigation into regional violence and criticised India’s Operation Sindoor, a military response to an insurgent attack on Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, that Ankara warned could lead to “all-out war”. Information also emerged that Turkish drones had been used by Pakistan against India.
Boycott turkey #India_Against_Turkey pic.twitter.com/Uatu7BRcUV
— Abhimanyu Verma (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Bittuverma7) May 16, 2025
“Enemies of our country”
As Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Maulana Azad National Urdu University all suspended academic links with Turkish counterparts, Indians called for a more widespread boycott of Türkiye, with the language of some commentary inflaming the situation.
Politician Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and former minister, said: “Every hardworking Indian who travels abroad as a tourist understands today that their hard-earned rupee should not be spent on those who help the enemies of our country.”
Every hardworking Indian who travels abroad as a tourist understands today that their hard-earned rupee should not be spent on those who help the enemies of our country. The boycott of Turkey is organic and spontaneous, and I'm completely in support of it.
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@RajeevRC_X) May 14, 2025
India reached out to… pic.twitter.com/NUCyYr3Thf
The protest saw Indian bookings for travel plummet by 60% for Azerbaijan and Türkiye, while cancellations rose by 250%, according to the MakeMyTrip platform. However, some argue the backlash will have little impact. Türkiye (like Azerbaijan) experienced a year-on-year 20% boom in tourism from India in 2024 but Indian tourists still represent only 1% of Türkiye’s foreign visitor numbers (nine per cent for Azerbaijan).
Protecting national interests?
In addition, Indian officials began freezing business arrangements, straining diplomatic relationships. One victim of the dispute is Turkish firm Celebi NAS Airport Services India, which manages ground handling at India’s major airports in Delhi and Mumbai.
Its security clearance has been revoked by the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation, which said on social media platform X that the decision followed “requests from across India,” and had been taken due to the “seriousness of the issue and the call to protect national interests.”
Revocation of Security Clearance of Celebi, Turkish company operating ground handling services at Indian Airports.
— Murlidhar Mohol (@mohol_murlidhar) May 15, 2025
We have received requests from across India to ban Celebi NAS Airport Services India Ltd, a Turkish company operating ground handling services at Indian airports.… pic.twitter.com/FGpuLuHBbh
Celebi said in a statement the question mark over its security status is “unjust” and announced plans to explore all possible “administrative and legal” routes to help “clarify” the situation and overturn the ban. The firm also refused to be held accountable for the consequences of interrupting its operations, telling Bloomberg, “Our company and subsidiaries bear no responsibility for any potential disruptions, delays or negative impacts on airport operations and civil aviation traffic in India.”
