Latest news with #PrashantPitti
India.com
15-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
Turkey, facing strong anger from Indians over supplying arms to Pakistan, has deep ties with India's….
(File) Turkey is facing criticism for supporting Pakistan during India's Operation Sindoor. According to Media reports Pakistan was using Turkish drones against India. After this news many users on social media platforms started questioning Turkey over their stand. Netizens started demanding a complete boycott of Turkey and asking other Indians not to travel to Turkey. Some travel booking platforms also supported the Indians over their stand. MakeMyTrip has urged people to avoid non-essential travel to Azerbaijan and Turkey over the two countries. EaseMyTrip Co-Founder Prashant Pitti also supported the stand and said the national interest comes first and the business interest later. It's also going to impact Indian Airlines business. As many Indian Airlines have strong ties with Turkish airlines for direct or indirect business. IndiGo has been in partnership with Turkish Airlines since 2018. In May 2023 they inducted its first damp-leased widebody aircraft from Turkish Airlines. Turkish Technic gave base maintenance services to Air India's Boeing 777 aircraft. They are also in an agreement with Air India Express from February 2025 to handle the maintenance and component support. While India Pakistan tensions may impact Turkey's relationships with India, its aviation partnerships will also be in scrutiny in upcoming months.
India Gazette
14-05-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
"Nation first, business later": EaseMyTrip's Nishant Pitti echoes boycott Turkey, Azerbaijan call
New Delhi [India], May 14 (ANI): EaseMyTrip Co-Founder Prashant Pitti on Wednesday said the national interest comes first and the business interest later, echoing the call for boycotting Turkey and Azerbaijan, after these countries openly supported Pakistan during the recent conflict with India. Turkey and Azerbaijan have rallied behind Pakistan despite its support for cross-border terrorism against India and its aggression after the Indian Armed Forces struck nine terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Azerbaijan, in its statement on India-Pakistan tensions, has echoed the Pakistani line. Turkey expressed its solidarity with Pakistan and supported Islamabad's proposal for an international investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack. Turkey has also supplied military weapons to Pakistan. 'As a company, EaseMyTrip, we always think of the nation first and business later,' Prashant Pitti told ANI in an interview. Even in early 2024, EaseMyTrip had cancelled bookings for the Maldives. India's relations with the archipelago soured following some derogatory remarks by Maldivian officials against India and its leadership. 'We took a national stand and for nine months we did not work with Maldives, only when our External Affairs Minister visited Maldives, we allowed to restart Maldives bookings,' Pitti said. 'Similarly, in the events which are happening right now where there is an ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, even though there is a ceasefire, the ceasefire are also getting violated. We are seeing the countries like Azerbaijan and Turkey standing on the wrong side of history. Pakistan is clearly caught at the funeral of UN-designated terrorists,' he added. 'We have seen Pakistan army and personnel standing over there, standing shoulder and shoulders with them. But what more proof does the world need to qualify Pakistan as a rogue nation. And yet there are some countries which are supporting them, which are even providing them drones to attack on India. As a travel advisory, we have decided to issue a travel advisory to all our passengers to not to travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan because it is only going to come back and bite us,' he continued. This time, Pitti said EaseMyTrip did not cancel the flights voluntarily to Turkey and Azerbaijan but instead issued a travel advisory. Turkey serves as a key layover for Indians travelling Europe and the US. 'People go to Turkey and then immediately they take another flight to go to US or Europe which is why we could not differentiate who is going to Turkey and who is not going to Turkey,' Pitti said. Despite, since the boycott Turkey and Azerbaijan gathered steam, 22 per cent people have cancelled their bookings to Turkey and another 30 per cent cancelled their flights to Azerbaijan, Pitti said. 'These numbers are going to rise,' Pitti said. Last year, 2.5 lakh Indians travelled to Turkey and another 2.3 travelled to Azerbaijan. These extrapolates to about Rs 5,000 crore revenue loss for these two countries, Pitti estimated, given one traveller would have spent on an average Rs 1 lakh during their stay. 'We put out an advisory requesting people to avoid travelling to these countries. We are happy that many other travel agencies have accepted our standpoint. It is because of our efforts that boycott Turkey and boycott Azerbaijan are trending,' Pitti further said. Echoing similar sentiments, Subhash Goyal, Chairman, Tourism Committee, Indian Chamber of Commerce, said they remain committed to promoting ethical, responsible, and respectful business and tourism practices, while upholding the values of integrity, security, and unity of our country. 'Several tourism associations and industry bodies have issued statements of solidarity and collective commitment towards prioritising our national interest over commercial goals. The Indian Chamber of Commerce joins these organisations in demanding a boycott of states like Turkey and Azerbaijan, following their stand against India's response to terrorism. Tourism is a force for good and a driver of peace, global harmony and international understanding,' Goyal said. 'The safety and integrity of our citizens has to be prioritized above all else. There is so much beauty in the world, we appeal to Indians traveling overseas to choose destinations that are safe, promote peace and are aligned with India's commitment against terrorism and separatist activities,' he added. Talking to ANI virtually, Jyoti Mayal, Former President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), said, as per reports, 50 per cent of bookings to these countries have been cancelled. 'Indian travellers have immensely helped Turkey and Azerbaijan in their tourism sector in the past years. People have now on their own decided to avoid travelling to these countries. As per reports, 50 per cent of bookings were cancelled,' she said. 'Currently, there have been huge cancellations. We as travel agents are not supporting this at all and we are trying to say that no one should travel to these countries,' she added. (ANI)
India Gazette
14-05-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
"Nation first, business later": EaseMyTrip's Prashant Pitti echoes boycott Turkey, Azerbaijan call
New Delhi [India], May 14 (ANI): EaseMyTrip Co-Founder Prashant Pitti on Wednesday said the national interest comes first and the business interest later, echoing the call for boycotting Turkey and Azerbaijan, after these countries openly supported Pakistan during the recent conflict with India. Turkey and Azerbaijan have rallied behind Pakistan despite its support for cross-border terrorism against India and its aggression after the Indian Armed Forces struck nine terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Azerbaijan, in its statement on India-Pakistan tensions, has echoed the Pakistani line. Turkey expressed its solidarity with Pakistan and supported Islamabad's proposal for an international investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack. Turkey has also supplied military weapons to Pakistan. 'As a company, EaseMyTrip, we always think of the nation first and business later,' Prashant Pitti told ANI in an interview. Even in early 2024, EaseMyTrip had cancelled bookings for the Maldives. India's relations with the archipelago soured following some derogatory remarks by Maldivian officials against India and its leadership. 'We took a national stand and for nine months we did not work with Maldives, only when our External Affairs Minister visited Maldives, we allowed to restart Maldives bookings,' Pitti said. 'Similarly, in the events which are happening right now where there is an ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, even though there is a ceasefire, the ceasefire are also getting violated. We are seeing the countries like Azerbaijan and Turkey standing on the wrong side of history. Pakistan is clearly caught at the funeral of UN-designated terrorists,' he added. 'We have seen Pakistan army and personnel standing over there, standing shoulder and shoulders with them. But what more proof does the world need to qualify Pakistan as a rogue nation. And yet there are some countries which are supporting them, which are even providing them drones to attack on India. As a travel advisory, we have decided to issue a travel advisory to all our passengers to not to travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan because it is only going to come back and bite us,' he continued. This time, Pitti said EaseMyTrip did not cancel the flights voluntarily to Turkey and Azerbaijan but instead issued a travel advisory. Turkey serves as a key layover for Indians travelling Europe and the US. 'People go to Turkey and then immediately they take another flight to go to US or Europe which is why we could not differentiate who is going to Turkey and who is not going to Turkey,' Pitti said. Despite, since the boycott Turkey and Azerbaijan gathered steam, 22 per cent people have cancelled their bookings to Turkey and another 30 per cent cancelled their flights to Azerbaijan, Pitti said. 'These numbers are going to rise,' Pitti said. Last year, 2.5 lakh Indians travelled to Turkey and another 2.3 travelled to Azerbaijan. These extrapolates to about Rs 5,000 crore revenue loss for these two countries, Pitti estimated, given one traveller would have spent on an average Rs 1 lakh during their stay. 'We put out an advisory requesting people to avoid travelling to these countries. We are happy that many other travel agencies have accepted our standpoint. It is because of our efforts that boycott Turkey and boycott Azerbaijan are trending,' Pitti further said. Echoing similar sentiments, Subhash Goyal, Chairman, Tourism Committee, Indian Chamber of Commerce, said they remain committed to promoting ethical, responsible, and respectful business and tourism practices, while upholding the values of integrity, security, and unity of our country. 'Several tourism associations and industry bodies have issued statements of solidarity and collective commitment towards prioritising our national interest over commercial goals. The Indian Chamber of Commerce joins these organisations in demanding a boycott of states like Turkey and Azerbaijan, following their stand against India's response to terrorism. Tourism is a force for good and a driver of peace, global harmony and international understanding,' Goyal said. 'The safety and integrity of our citizens has to be prioritized above all else. There is so much beauty in the world, we appeal to Indians traveling overseas to choose destinations that are safe, promote peace and are aligned with India's commitment against terrorism and separatist activities,' he added. Talking to ANI virtually, Jyoti Mayal, Former President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), said, as per reports, 50 per cent of bookings to these countries have been cancelled. 'Indian travellers have immensely helped Turkey and Azerbaijan in their tourism sector in the past years. People have now on their own decided to avoid travelling to these countries. As per reports, 50 per cent of bookings were cancelled,' she said. 'Currently, there have been huge cancellations. We as travel agents are not supporting this at all and we are trying to say that no one should travel to these countries,' she added. (ANI)
Mint
14-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
‘50% travel bookings' for Turkey, Azerbaijan from India cancelled over Pakistan support amid boycott calls
Amid calls for boycotting travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan, flight bookings to these two nations have dropped by 60 per cent in the last one week and cancellations surged to 250 per cent, MakeMyTrip said on Wednesday. The two countries had openly supported Pakistan after India launched air strikes under Operation Sindoor on nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Following this, Indians launched a campaign on social media to boycott travel to Türkiye and Azerbaijan. 'Indian travellers have expressed strong sentiments over the past one week, with bookings for Azerbaijan and Türkiye decreasing by 60 per cent, while cancellations have surged by 250 per cent during the same period,' a MakeMyTrip spokesperson stated. 'In solidarity with our nation and out of deep respect for our armed forces, we strongly support this sentiment and advise all against all non-essential travel to Azerbaijan and Türkiye,' the spokesperson said, adding that the company has already discontinued all promotions and offers on its platform to discourage tourism to these two destinations. Speaking to ANI, former president of Travel Agents Association of India Jyoti Mayal said up to 50 per cent of the bookings made for Turkey and Azerbaijan from India have been cancelled. "We have helped and supported Turkey and Azerbaijan a lot in the tourism sector. We must show our displeasure over how they have behaved with India. We are not supporting travel to these countries," she said. Indian armed forces had conducted Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians, mostly tourists, were killed. During the India-Pakistan conflict, Istanbul had expressed its solidarity with Islamabad and supported its proposal for an international investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack. Turkey had also supplied military weapons to Pakistan. Azerbaijan, in its statement on India-Pakistan tensions, has echoed the Pakistani line. Echoing the call for boycotting Turkey and Azerbaijan, EaseMyTrip co-founder Prashant Pitti on Wednesday said the national interest comes first and the business interest later. 'As a company, EaseMyTrip, we always think of the nation first and business later,' Prashant Pitti told ANI. 'In the events which are happening right now, where there is an ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, even though there is a ceasefire, the ceasefire is also getting violated. We are seeing countries like Azerbaijan and Turkey standing on the wrong side of history. Pakistan is clearly caught at the funeral of UN-designated terrorists,' he added. Pitti also said that since the boycott Turkey and Azerbaijan campaign gathered steam, 22 per cent of people have cancelled their bookings to Turkey, and another 30 per cent have cancelled their flights to Azerbaijan. In early 2024, EaseMyTrip had cancelled bookings for the Maldives after India's ties with the archipelago soured following some derogatory remarks by Maldivian officials against India and its leadership.
News18
14-05-2025
- Business
- News18
Turkey, Azerbaijan Tourism To Trip As Travel Portals See Surge In Cancellations Amid Boycott Calls
Last Updated: MakeMyTrip, one of the biggest travel portals, has seen a 60% drop in bookings to Azerbaijan and Turkey during the past week, while cancellations have risen by 250% As the chorus to boycott Turkey and Azerbaijan for supporting Pakistan during the tension with India grows louder, travel portals are seeing a steep drop in bookings, with a surge in cancellations. MakeMyTrip (MMT), one of the biggest travel portals, has seen a 250% rise in cancellations, along with a 60% drop in bookings to Azerbaijan and Turkey during the past week. 'In solidarity with our nation and out of deep respect for our armed forces, we strongly support this sentiment and advise all against all non-essential travel to Azerbaijan and Turkey. We have already discontinued all promotions and offers on our platform to discourage tourism to these two destinations," said MMT spokesperson. The two countries had criticised India's strike on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir on May 7. Islamabad also used Turkish drones in the conflict. While many on X have been recommending travel to Greece or Armenia, others have responded with comments about tickets cancelled by them, their friends or relatives as a patriotic gesture. Echoing the sentiment, Subhash Goyal, chairman of The Indian Chamber of Commerce's Tourism Committee, the expert committee on aviation and tourism, stated that all tourism associations stand firmly with the nation and the Indian Armed Forces. According to the committee, tourism to these two countries could see a 50-60% decline. The committee also cited security risks for Indian travellers and urged the Government of India to issue a travel advisory for Turkey and Azerbaijan. Prashant Pitti, co-founder, EaseMyTrip, told News18: 'It is our responsibility. We were the first to issue a travel advisory on avoiding travel to Turkey. At least 22% of our tickets to Turkey and 33% to Azerbaijan have been cancelled…These numbers are going to increase. This could be the beginning for Turkey as Indian tourism will go down drastically." No Türkiye, Indians won't come spending money on tourism in a country that uses the same to arm Pakistan. Look for your tourists elsewhere, our money ain't blood money. — Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) May 13, 2025 A letter, reportedly from Türkiye's department of tourism, has gone viral on X (formerly Twitter). In the letter, Türkiye urged Indian tourists not to cancel or postpone their travel plans, assuring that there are no restrictions or safety concerns for Indian travellers. Joining the boycott call was actor Rupali Ganguly of Anupamaa fame. She wrote on X: 'Can we please cancel our bookings for Turkey? This is my request to all Indian Celebs/Influencers/Travellers. This is the least we can do as Indians. #BoycottTurkey." Can we please cancel our bookings for Turkey. This is my request to all Indian Celebs/Influencers/Travellers. This is the least we can do as Indians. #BoycottTurkey — Rupali Ganguly (@TheRupali) May 13, 2025 Meanwhile, IndiGo airlines has come under fire for continuing its codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines. Not just travel, the boycott call has spread to Turkish goods too. The Delhi Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) on Monday launched a protest campaign urging a complete boycott of goods imported from China and Turkey. Earlier, traders from Uttar Pradesh and Pune joined took to the streets and began pulling Turkish produce—mostly apples —off the shelves. Udaipur traders have also decided to stop use of Turkish marble. The Shiv Sena has also called for immediate termination of a Turkish ground-handling company's contract at Mumbai's international airport. First Published:
