Centre to carry out background verification for Air India's new CEO Ilker Ayci. Here's why

For his background check, the MHA is also expected to take help from the external intelligence agency, R&AW, reported PTI.

The Ministry of Home Affairs will "scrupulously" carry out a thorough background check of newly appointed CEO of Air India, Ilker Ayci, news agency PTI quoted official sources on Sunday. Ayci, who is a Turkish national, was recently appointed as the MD and CEO of the airline by the Tata Group.

Tata Sons appointed Ilker Ayci as Chief executive officer and managing director of Air India. (ANI)

People familiar with the development told PTI that such background checks are carried out for all foreign nationals when they are appointed in the key positions of any Indian company. It will be the same process for the newly appointed CEO and MD too, they added.

However, the process of security clearance will only begin once the home ministry receives any communication on Ayci from either the Tata group or the Civil Aviation Ministry, the nodal ministry.

For his background check, the MHA is also expected to take help from the external intelligence agency, R&AW, reported PTI.

Ayci was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1971. He was an advisor of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, when the latter was mayor of Istanbul, from 1994 to 1998.

He had served the Turkish Airlines as its chairman from 2015 to 2022 and was credited with turning the airline around.

Ayci has degrees in political science and public administration from Bilkent University. He has also done master's in international relations from Marmara University in Istanbul.