The Madras High Court has directed that any new ground handling contractor appointed at Chennai International Airport must be selected through a transparent public tender process. The ruling comes amid legal proceedings related to the Airports Authority of India’s (AAI) cancellation of its agreement with Celebi Ground Services Chennai Pvt. Ltd.

The court specified that the tender must explicitly state that the final appointment of a contractor will be subject to the outcome of cases pending before both the Madras and Delhi High Courts. These proceedings concern the revocation of Celebi’s security clearance, which led to the termination of its April 2023 concession agreement by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.

The bench, led by Justice Abdul Quddhose, acknowledged AAI’s argument that appointing a third-party ground handler was essential to ensure uninterrupted airport operations and to safeguard public interest.

While adjourning the matter to 7 July to allow AAI to file its counter affidavit, the court recorded the authority’s undertaking that it would not use any equipment or software belonging to Celebi. Additionally, Celebi was granted permission to take inventory of its assets, subject to prior approval from AAI, with the court directing that AAI should raise no objections to this process.

The ruling seeks to strike a balance between the operational needs of the airport and Celebi’s rights, until the legal questions surrounding its security clearance are resolved.