31.08.2021 - 15:24 UTC
Virtual startup Cally Air (Calabar) is at risk of being grounded barely a month after it started operating with its shareholder, the Cross River State government, saying it has been unable to withdraw the cash needed to pay for the insurance and maintenance of its aircraft, local media report.
The airline, operated by Aero Contractors (N2, Lagos) on behalf of the Cross River state, only began operations on July 15 on routes between Lagos, Kano, and Abuja with two B737-300s.
However, State Commissioner for Aviation Jake Otu-Enyia has told local reporters his administration has been unable to draw funds deposited in an unnamed commercial bank in order to pay for the insurance and maintenance of the aircraft. “Cally Air is at the risk of being shut down because we are unable to get money from the bank to renew our insurance and do maintenance of our aircraft as its standard practice and instructions from the NCAA (Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority),” he said.
Neither operator, Aero Contractors, nor...
22.07.2021 - 16:50 UTC
Nigerian start-up Cally Air (Calabar) has launched commercial operations between Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Calabar with a B737-300, 5N-BYQ (msn 30334).
The maiden flight took place on July 15 from Lagos to Abuja, Flightradar24 ADS-B data reveals.
According to Nigerian news media, the aircraft was welcomed on touchdown by Ben Ayade, the governor of the Nigerian state of Cross River, who boarded the aircraft for inspection and lauded the event as the realisation of a dream that had started in 2016. He expressed confidence that Cally Air would contribute to growing tourism to Cross River State, located along Nigeria’s border with Cameroon and the Atlantic Ocean coastline.
This was also true of the state’s new Obudu International Airport, he said, currently under construction and due for completion in December 2021. The airport's construction has been controversial because it has been met with resistance from the Okambi community, which owns the land where it is being built.
Based at Calabar, Cally Air is a virtual carrier operated by Aero...
12.04.2021 - 12:31 UTC
Nigerian startup Cally Air (Calabar) has taken delivery of its first aircraft, a B737-300 bought from Magnetic Leasing, to be based out of Calabar, with a second B737-300 on order.
5N-BYR (msn 29266) was delivered to Lagos on April 6, 2021, after it was ferried from Tallinn Lennart Meri via Malta Int'l to Nigeria, according to FlightRadar24 ADS-B data.
The 22-year-old jet is the first of two former airBaltic (BT, Riga) B737-300s secured from Magnetic Leasing by the nascent airline, which is a public-private partnership (PPP) between the Nigerian state of Cross River and Dana Air (9J, Lagos) in a bid to boost tourism to the state bordering Cameroon and the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Aero Contractors (N2, Lagos) is the actual carrier that will operate the aircraft for Cally Air, however.
Configured with 144 all-economy seating, 5N-BYR previously flew with airBaltic (BT, Riga) as YL-BBR from March 31, 2009, to June 30, 2020, whereafter it was stored, the ch-aviation...
26.01.2017 - 13:28 UTC
Imo Air (Owerri) is a Nigerian virtual carrier that inaugurated scheduled commercial operations this past week.
Using MD-83 5N-SRI (msn 53020) chartered from Dana Air (9J, Lagos), Imo Air conducted its maiden flight - Lagos-Owerri, Imo State located in southeastern Nigeria.
Imo Air is owned by the Imo State government and aims to improve the region's connectivity with the rest of the country.
“We have five of these aircraft, and this is the first one that we have just acquired. We hope to go to a full blown carrier by 2018," the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, told Nigeria's Vanguard newspaper. "We have a partnership agreement with Dana, which spans about 10 years. We only gave them this aircraft for them to manage it for us because they are professional in the Nigerian aviation industry."
Aside from Imo Air, Owerri is connected to Lagos and Abuja by Air Peace (P4, Lagos), Arik Air (W3, Lagos), and Dana Air...
