India has warned Turkish Airlines to follow the security rules. A surprise inspection at four airports has revealed violations, including a case in which explosives were allegedly taken to flight without telling. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted unannounced security checks on four major Indian airports – Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru between May 29 and 2 June 2025 on Turkish Airlines passengers and cargo flights. The Ministry of Aviation said that the goods had dangerous items, which requires prior permission from DGCA to bring explosives from India or to India. This approval was neither attached nor mentioned in the dangerous goods declaration.
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The ministry further stated that the marshalr, who handled the ground operation in Bengaluru, did not have a proper authority and valid qualification card for marshaling duty. During the arrival of the aircraft, a maintenance engineer was not available, and instead the process was carried out by a technician. The airline was inspected under Article 16 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Convention to assess compliance with the International Security Standards and DGCA rules.
DGCA directed the airline to follow standards and aviation rules
After inspection, the DGCA directed Turkish Airlines to fully follow ICAO standards and Indian aviation rules. The regulator said that follow -up inspections would be conducted to ensure continuous compliance and urged the airline to immediately remove the deficiencies identified.