India has revoked the security clearance of Celebi Airport Services India, a unit of Turkey’s Celebi, with immediate effect, citing national security concerns, the country’s civil aviation ministry said in an order on Thursday.

New Delhi’s decision came a day after travel booking firms said Indians were cancelling holidays in popular resorts in Turkey and Azerbaijan following the countries’ support for Pakistan during the recent conflict with India.

On Wednesday, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) had demanded the cancellation of the contract between Çelebi and Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) citing security reasons. A delegation led by the Shiv Sena leader Murji Patel went to Mumbai airport and protested against the association of the airport with Çelebi NAS Airport Services.

BCAS had approved the security clearance of Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd under the category ground handling agency on November 21, 2022.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has also formally ended its association with Çelebi entities responsible for ground handling and cargo operations at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).

Çelebi Airport Services India and Çelebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India were overseeing ground handling and cargo terminal functions, respectively.

Union minister of civil aviation Ram Mohan Naidu said on Thursday that nothing was above the security of the nation and citizens.

“We are also deploying special teams to oversee operations and address any emerging issues in real time,” he added.