Days after Enugu Air kicked off operations, Cally Air, another state-owned airline, is about to commence flight operations.
ENigeria News reports that with its base in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, Cally Air was former Governor Ben Ayade’s project, which failed to see the light of the day under the watch of the former governor, whose white elephant projects litter all over the state without direct positive impact on the people.
Following the exit of the ‘Olimpotic” Ayade and the declining state of tourism in Cross River State, the current governor, Prince Bassey Otu, who is frantically working on reviving the lost glory of the state, is revving up on the kickoff of the Cally Air project, along with other long-abandoned projects under his predecessor.
ENigeria News reports that days back, our correspondent spotted two A220-300 aircraft reportedly acquired by the Cross Rivers State government for Cally Air take off, which is a shift from its initial projection of acquiring four brand new Boeing 737 aircraft for the smooth operation of the airline.
In 2023, Prince Bassey Otu-led Cross Rivers State, bragged about taking delivery of “four new Boeing aircraft to boost the fleet of the state-owned Cally Air as well as air transportation in and out of the state capital, Calabar,” but that appeared to be another white elephant project that failed to see the light of day.
According to the state government, the essence of acquiring the new aircraft, a Boeing 737–5N BYR plane, for the state-owned airline in Calabar was to ease the stress of travel into the state during the Carnival season.
While the dark days of Ayade may be gone, it remains to be seen what Bassey Otu has to offer Cross Riverians beyond mouthing political promises. It’s time for the actualization of campaign promises with the speed of a cheetah; it’s time to end the snail-speed approach.
What you should know About Cally AIr
Cally Air, the Cross River State-owned airline, was launched by former Governor Benedict Ayade in 2021, with one aircraft.
The main hub of Cally Air is the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, also known as Calabar Airport.
The airline is a joint venture between the Cross River State government and Dana Group under a public-private agreement.
Cally Air commenced flight operations with daily services from Calabar Airport to Abuja and Lagos on August 1, 2021, but failed to keep up the tempo.
Meanwhile, ENigeria News collected a hilarious reaction from an indigene of Cross River State over the new state owned airline project. He wrote, “No airlines making profits in Nige.ria. Any State putting public funds in aviation business is investing in a dead business. Akwa Ibom running airlines because of oil funds. If aviation business is lucrative, let the private people invest. You can not make money in aviation in a country with battered economy. How many people can pay 150k for 1hr flight today in Nigeria? No middle class now in the country, no one is saving shi shi.” (SIC).
