Following up its successful contract bids in India, Çelebi launched its first operations in the country at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport by providing ground handling services to British Airways aircraft.
The Mumbai contract is one of two that Çelebi Ground Handling (ÇGH) has been awarded, the other being for cargo services at the airport in the country's capital, Delhi.
First to be served: British Airways
As soon as the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport contract was awarded, ÇGH immediately set about satisfying all of the equipment and personnel requirements so that it could start providing ground handling services as quickly as possible. The first airline to be served by ÇGH at the Mumbai airport was British Airways. On this first BA flight served by the company, there were 214 arriving and 245 departing passengers. ÇGH services in India are provided through a local partner, Celebi NAS Airport Services India Pvt Ltd, in which ÇGH controls a majority stake.
Other airlines already lined up
In addition to British Airways, ÇGH will begin providing ground handling services at the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport to a number of other carriers (Lufthansa, Bahrain Air, Air Arabia, and Midex Freighter) with which it has agreements in July.
In late 2008, a ÇGH/NAS India consortium, in which Çelebi controls a majority interest, submitted the winning bid on a ten-year contract to provide ground handling services at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Some of the equipment that ÇGH brought into the country in the process of setting up its operations at the airport introduced state-of-the-art technology in ground handling services to the Indian aviation industry for the first time.