Çelebi Aviation wins Ground Handling License for RGIA Hyderabad

With this win, Çelebi has committed to partner with RGIA to offer modern and technologically-backed services to over 20 million passengers.

Çelebi Aviation Holding, one of the leading global ground handling service provider today announced that it has won the Ground Handling license for Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA). Strengthening its commitment to expand in the India market, this is the third win for Çelebi since last year, after winning the license for the Bengaluru and Kannur airports.

Under the 10-year concession, Çelebi Aviation will provide state of the art ground handling services to make customer experience at the city airport seamless. The contract was won on the basis of a highly competitive bidding process that assessed the technical and financial qualifications of multiple global ground handling players who participated in the bid. Under the partnership, Çelebi plans to make an investment of USD 5-6 million.

With this win, Çelebi has committed to partner with RGIA to offer modern and technologically-backed services to over 20 million passengers. Capitalizing on its global expertise, Çelebi would ensure safe, efficient and environment-friendly provisions at the airport. The company's vision of being the front-runner in terms of technology, service excellence and customer centricity aligns well with that of RGIA.

Expressing his views on the development, Mr Murali Ramachandran, CEO - India, Çelebi Aviation Holding Inc. said, "The year gone by was a very important year for Çelebi as it marked the 10thanniversary of our India operations. Our partnership with RGIA is an important benchmark in our decade-long journey as it sets another milestone towards our efforts of strengthening our presence and commitment in the India aviation market. Being well set for a major growth path in the aviation space, India is a key market for us. With our focused and strategic expansion plans, we stand committed to contribute, support and play a meaningful role in catalysing the growth story of the Indian aviation sector."

With a legacy of 60 years since its inception, Çelebi not just has a strong presence in the India market but also enjoys the stature of being a global expert in ground handling services. In India, Çelebi enjoys the unique position of being present across India's top three airports - Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, and has the capability to service close to 50% of aviation traffic in the country.

The company also has operations in Cochin, Ahmedabad and has recently started offering its services at the Kannur International Airport, that started its operations in December 2018. Çelebi is also partaking in the AAI airports bid process for about 30 airports and also has Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL) on its radar.

About Çelebi Group

The foundation of the Çelebi Aviation Group was laid in 1958 with the inception of Çelebi Ground Handling, Turkey's first privately-owned ground handling services company. With its line-up of services companies' active in two continents, five countries, Çelebi Aviation Group views the future with confidence. Each ranking among the leading names of their respective sectors, Çelebi companies are active in a wide range of activities such as ground handling services and cargo and warehouse operations in the aviation sector.

Çelebi has been in India for a decade now and has been successfully carrying out ground handling operations at the major airports of the country- Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Cochin, Ahmedabad and now in Kannur, and is planning to expand its operations in other airports.

In addition to the ground handling services, the company also started providing cargo & warehouse services in 2009 with the establishment of Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India Pvt. Ltd., the terminal that was previously completely run by the Government. The joint venture between DIAL and Çelebi Ground Handling Turkey, Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India, today, is the largest cargo terminal by volume in the country.

(With Inputs from MSL)