Nairobi — A Turkish aviation giant that lost access to nine Indian airports following a diplomatic crisis has quietly secured a foothold at one of East Africa’s most strategic air cargo hubs, raising questions about the vetting of foreign operators at critical infrastructure sites across the continent.
Celebi Aviation, through its German subsidiary Celebi Cargo GmbH, has acquired Transglobal Cargo Centre for 40.1 million dollars, gaining control of ground-handling operations at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.
The deal, approved by Kenyan authorities last week, marks the Istanbul-based company’s first direct entry into African aviation services just eight months after Indian officials terminated its concession agreements citing national security concerns.
The timing and circumstances of the acquisition have drawn scrutiny from industry observers familiar with the events that led to Celebi’s abrupt exit from India.
In May 2025, Indian authorities revoked the company’s operating licenses at major airports including Mumbai and Delhi, formally citing security clearance issues following a brief military confrontation between India and Pakistan.
The cancellations came after Turkey expressed formal support for Pakistan, triggering what Indian officials described as necessary security reviews of Turkish commercial interests.
Appeals by Celebi’s Indian subsidiaries were rejected by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, an agency under India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The company’s subsequent expansion into Kenya, barely six months later, has prompted questions about whether adequate due diligence was conducted by Kenyan regulators.
Peter Muthoka, the Kenyan billionaire who sold Transglobal to Celebi, told local media he was exiting the business to pursue other investments.
The 5.17 billion shillings transaction represents one of the largest deals in Kenya’s logistics market, with part of the proceeds earmarked for debt repayment related to facility upgrades at the airport.
Kenya’s Competition Authority approved the acquisition unconditionally, stating the transaction was “unlikely to negatively impact competition in the market for cargo handling in Kenya, nor elicit negative public interest concerns.”
The regulator projected that the deal would result in increased investment in facilities, equipment, and human resources.
However, the approval notice made no mention of the security concerns that led to Celebi’s expulsion from India, nor did it reference any enhanced vetting procedures for foreign operators acquiring assets at the country’s busiest airport.
JKIA handles approximately 20 percent of Kenya’s annual air cargo volume of 400,000 tonnes, making it a critical node in regional trade networks.
Through its new subsidiary, operating as Africa Flight Services, Celebi now controls 33 percent of the export cargo handling market at JKIA and 20 percent of the import market, according to data from the Kenya Airports Authority.
The company’s closest competitor, Kenya Airways Cargo, holds 22 percent of exports and 32 percent of imports.
Dave Dorner, chief executive of Celebi Aviation, described Kenya as “a key gateway for trade and cargo flows across East and Central Africa” in a statement announcing the acquisition.
He said the company aims to combine local expertise with global operational standards to support Kenya’s ambitions as a regional trade and logistics hub.
The aviation sector has long been considered sensitive from a security perspective, with cargo handling operations at international airports subject to heightened scrutiny in many jurisdictions.
Ground-handling companies have access to aircraft, cargo manifests, and restricted areas of airports, making their operations potential vulnerabilities if compromised.
Industry sources contacted for this report expressed surprise that a company facing security-related cancellations in one major market could secure regulatory approval in another without apparent additional scrutiny.
One aviation security consultant, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the situation as “a glaring example of regulatory arbitrage” in which companies barred from operations in jurisdictions with stringent security protocols seek entry into markets with less rigorous oversight.
Kenyan authorities have not responded to requests for comment on whether the Indian security concerns were considered during the approval process.
The Ministry of Transport and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority declined to provide statements on the vetting procedures applied to the Celebi transaction.
Celebi Aviation, founded in 1958, operates across Europe, India, and the Middle East, offering passenger services, ramp operations, and air cargo management at more than 40 airports worldwide.
The publicly traded company, listed on Borsa Istanbul, has positioned the Kenya acquisition as part of its international growth strategy.
The company’s statement on the transaction projected that Kenya’s aviation market would grow at an average rate of 5 percent annually over the next five years, significantly outpacing the global average.
It said Transglobal’s annual revenue is expected to reach approximately 15.9 million euros by the end of that period, supported by total investments of around 6.5 million euros.
For Muthoka, the sale marks his second major exit transaction.
In 2014, he received 1.8 billion shillings for his stake in motor vehicle dealer CMC Holdings when it was acquired by Dubai’s Al Futtaim. He maintains a presence in the logistics business through Acceler Global Logistics, which offers freight services and operates from JKIA’s cargo facilities.
The broader question raised by the transaction concerns the coordination, or lack thereof, between regulatory authorities in different jurisdictions when evaluating foreign investors in sensitive sectors.
While commercial considerations often drive approvals of foreign investment, security agencies in countries including the United States, Britain, and members of the European Union have increasingly applied heightened scrutiny to acquisitions of critical infrastructure assets.
Whether Kenya’s approval of the Celebi acquisition reflects a different risk assessment than that undertaken by Indian authorities, or simply a less stringent vetting process, remains unclear.
What is certain is that a company deemed unsuitable to operate at Indian airports on security grounds now controls a significant portion of cargo operations at East Africa’s most important aviation hub.
