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Tatas' pick for Air India CEO hits security clearance hurdle

Tatas' pick for Air India CEO hits security clearance hurdle

Air India Board may wait for formal MHA view before rethinking appointment and seeking a replacement for Ilker Ayci.

Karishma Asoodani
Karishma Asoodani
  • Updated Feb 23, 2022 7:31 PM IST
Tatas' pick for Air India CEO hits security clearance hurdleIlker Ayci had stepped down as Chairman of Turkish Airlines on January 26 this year -- Image source: Turkish Airlines

The appointment of a Turkish national with close past ties to Turkey’s ruling establishment has hit a “hurdle” with the Indian government and may lead to a scramble for a new leader to helm Air India.

Sources have told Business Today Television that while the appointment of the 51-year old Ilker Ayci has not been “reconsidered” as yet, there are clear indications that his candidature is no longer a Turkey shoot for the Tatas, the new owners of Air India.

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At the heart of the issue is the mandatory security clearance that is required from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for key management personnel of aviation and telecom companies among some other industrial sectors. It is not yet known whether a formal application for the security clearance has been filed with the MHA by Air India. There is still time to do so, because Ayci is to assume his new responsibility on or before April 1 this year.

The Air India board is now likely to wait for a formal MHA view on the matter before rethinking the appointment and seeking a replacement for Ayci, who had stepped down as Chairman of Turkish Airlines on January 26 this year.

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Until very recently, Ayci was the Chairman of Turkish Airlines, prior to which he was on the board of directors of the company. Announcing his appointment earlier this month, Tata Sons had said that Istanbul born “Ilker is an aviation industry leader who led Turkish Airlines to its current success during his tenure there.”

A Wikipedia profile of Aycı notes that he graduated from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Bilkent University before continuing his education at the Department of Political Science at the University of Leeds as a researcher.

For a period starting from 1994, Aycı was the advisor of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, then mayor of Istanbul and the current President of Turkey. On 19 November 2018, İlker Aycı married lawyer and sports commentator Tuğçe Saatman, where President Erdoğan acted as one of the wedding witnesses.

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President Erdogan is seen to be Muslim hardliner with close ties to Pakistan and a hostile attitude towards India and its leadership. He has repeatedly raked up internal issues of India at global forums, inviting stringent criticism from the government of India, which has in the past termed his comments on Kashmir as “gross interference in India’s internal affairs and completely unacceptable”.

Sources say headhunting firm Egon Zender had earlier shortlisted three names as probable contenders for the position of Air India CEO. According to sources, aviation industry veteran Fred Reid was one of the three candidates in the reckoning, along with former Chairman of British airways, Alex Cruz. Reid has had stints as a president with various global airlines like Lufthansa and Delta Airlines. Cruz was the chairman of British Airways for five years until 2020. As per sources, both Reid and Cruz had met with Tata group executives in the run up to the appointment.

Last year, the Tata Group took complete control of Air India from the government, nearly 69 years after it was taken from the conglomerate. The appointment of a new CEO to helm the airline is amongst its first key steps at the erstwhile national carrier.

Published on: Feb 23, 2022 4:52 PM IST
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