EaseMyTrip Founder Claims Half of MakeMyTrip's Directors Have Chinese Ties, Citing National Security Risks

EaseMyTrip co-founder Nishant Pitti has also raised serious national security issues against rival MakeMyTrip, claiming that the site puts sensitive travel information of Indian Armed Forces officers at risk. The boardroom of the company is strongly dominated by Chinese interests, according to Pitti.

"Five of the 10 directors on MakeMyTrip's board have direct connections to China, including key appointments by Trip.com, which is Chinese-owned," Pitti said on Friday, alleging the structure of the board could potentially undermine strategic decision-making.".

He also noted that "three out of the four most strategic board committees (at MakeMyTrip) are either headed or strongly driven by directors with obvious Chinese affiliations, and hence exercising disproportionate influence on key decisions."

Rejecting the argument that these issues can be waved away, Pitti stressed, "MakeMyTrip would brush this aside as a 'motivated accusation' but when national security is involved, there cannot be a silence."

In a reference to the recent change in leadership at MakeMyTrip, he went on to say, "The addition of a new director on 14 May 2025 makes little difference. One board reshuffle cannot cover up the long-established organization of Chinese-backed control that still influences the board and committee structures."

Earlier, in a social media post on X, Pitti brought forward that Indian defence personnel reserve cheaper tickets through an application "largely owned by China," using Defence ID, travel itinerary, and dates. "Our adversaries are aware of where our soldiers are flying," he warned, appending screenshots of the MakeMyTrip website that indicated a special fare for military officials that necessitated entry of their defence ID. "Sharing screenshots revealing this bug — it has got to be fixed now," he posted.

MakeMyTrip has formally refuted the allegations, referring to them as a "motivated accusation".

In a connected development, EaseMyTrip and MakeMyTrip have also witnessed a spate of cancellations from Indian tourists to Turkey and Azerbaijan, amidst heightened public anger against the two countries for their perceived anti-India attitude during Operation Sindoor.

EaseMyTrip has experienced a 22% decline in bookings to Turkey and over a 30% fall in travel arrangements to Azerbaijan, as per Pitti. He has appealed to Indian travelers to stay away from these nations because they voiced support for Pakistan during the military campaign.