Çelebi India rejects claims on Erdoğan family ties, says ‘remain in full compliance with Indian regulations’

Faced with allegations linking its security clearance revocation to a political connection with Turkish President Erdoğan’s daughter, Çelebi Aviation India has pushed back hard.

Calling the claims “misleading and factually incorrect,” the company emphasized its global credentials and institutional ownership. “Çelebi Aviation India is a professionally governed, globally operated aviation services company,” it said in a statement, stressing that it is majority-owned by international investors spanning Canada, the US, the UK, Singapore, the UAE, and Western Europe.

Çelebi Aviation, with more than six decades in aviation services, operates across three continents and six countries, delivering ground handling and cargo operations, it said. Its growth in emerging markets, including India, is anchored in a mission to support aviation infrastructure, national economies, and local employment, the firm added.

In India, where Çelebi has been active for over 15 years, the company employs more than 10,000 Indians and has invested over $220 million in long-term infrastructure, the statement said. Operating across nine major airports, it describes itself as an integral part of India’s aviation ecosystem.

“Çelebi’s business in India is truly an Indian enterprise,” the company said, adding that it is led by Indian professionals and governed by principles of transparency and neutrality. “We are not a Turkish organisation by any standard,” it added, distancing itself from any foreign political affiliations.

Responding directly to the allegation involving Sümeyye Erdoğan, Çelebi stated, “There is no one named Sümeyye owning any shareholding in the parent organisation.” The Turkish ownership is limited to M Can Çelebioğlu and Ms Canan Çelebioğlu, each holding 17.5%. Both are descendants of the company’s founder and have “no political affiliations or associations of any kind.”

Çelebi also dismissed concerns circulating on social media regarding security issues at its Delhi airport cargo terminal. It clarified that all its facilities are regularly audited by Indian aviation and security authorities, including CISF, BCAS, and AAI. “We remain in full compliance with Indian aviation, national security, and tax regulations,” the statement noted.

Calling for responsible journalism, Çelebi urged media outlets and stakeholders to avoid circulating speculative narratives that could jeopardize the livelihood of its workforce and damage years of cooperative progress.