Ayade takes delivery of second Cally Air Boeing 737
Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade has taken delivery of another Boeing 737 aircraft at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos for the state’s commercial airline – Cally Air.
The arrival of the aircraft is happening barely three weeks after the first airplane was received on April 6.
On ground to receive the aircraft at Arik Air hangar in Lagos were the Commissioner for Finance, Asuquo Ekpeyong Jr., Director-General of Due Process, Alphonsus Ogar and Director-General, Bureau of Public Private Partnership, Udiba Udiba.
The two Boeing 737 aircraft have a carrying capacity of 142 and 144 passengers.
Ayade, announcing the floating of Cally Air early this year, decried the prohibitive air transport cost in the country, particularly the Lagos-Calabar and Calabar Abuja routes, querying why “a passenger will pay over N70,000 to fly to Calabar? The route to Calabar either from Lagos or Abuja is the most expensive in Nigeria.”
The governor said the outrageous charges were due to “the fact that there is no corresponding surplus of airlines coming into Calabar. So it is the responsibility of the government to respond to the challenge of our people, recognising that they are being extorted as a result of monopoly.”
He said he created the Ministry of Aviation to bring into realisation the birth of Cally Airline.
“We need to take advantage of the massive climatic condition suitable for the growth of ornamental plants for export at Obudu cattle ranch.”
THE NATION
