It has become evident that the plan by the Cross River State government to establish an airline, Cally Air has failed because the state was unable to meet the requirements for operating licence.
The planned airline was only able to acquire two aircraft instead of three and was unable to meet other conditions required to get the approval to operate scheduled commercial service.
THISDAY investigations revealed that the two aircraft, Boeing B737-300 acquired by the state government have been handed over to Aero Contractors, which now manages them in operate and maintain arrangement.
Industry insider told THISDAY that the best decision the state government took was to hand the two aircraft over to Aero Contractor, which has aircraft maintenance facility and can carry out even D-checks on the aircraft type, known as Boeing classic.
So the state government has withdrawn the plan to establish an airline and to distinguish the aircraft from the Aero fleet, they are called Cally and the word Air, which designates it as an airline removed.
This was done on the insistence of the Directorate of Airworthiness and Standards (DAS) of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which has recognised the two aircraft as being under the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) of Aero Contractors.
“It would have been difficult for the Cross River State government to establish an airline now. In trying to establish an airline they will have to go through the process of obtaining their AOC. They will have to establish a company, which is outside the state control. They will get Air Transport Licence (ATL) and apply for AOC. Before they will obtain their AOC they will submit their manual and carry out demo flights. They will also get a third aircraft to qualify them to getting the certification. This process will last from 12 to 18 months or longer and I do not think the current administration will be ready to go through that process,” the inside source told THISDAY.
An official who was involved in the arrangement told THISDAY that there is no Cally Air; that the aircraft operates under Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aero, so the state has given the aircraft to Aero Contractors.
The official said that the state Governor, Professor Ben Ayade had a good plan but he was not well advised and wondered why the state wanted to obtain AOC with only two aircraft.
“Cally Air is not registered. Their decision to hand over of the aircraft to Aero Contractors to manage saved the equipment because Aero has a maintenance facility. The second aircraft was due for C-check on arrival. In fact, the company that leased it to the state government would not have released it if it was not coming to Aero, which has the capability to carry out C-check on the aircraft. The two aircraft were not bought; they were leased.
“Right now, only one is operating while the other is on maintenance and it operates Lagos, Calabar and Abuja, making six landings a day. But what is good about the acquisition of the aircraft is that it provided jobs for the Cross River state indigenes. They have been trained and they have relevant qualifications and they are now absorbed as personnel in the operation of the two aircraft,” the official said.
The Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Captain Abdullahi Mahmood told THISDAY that the two aircraft under Cally Air are being managed by Nigeria’s oldest airline and would continue to manage the aircraft until the Cross River state government was able to obtain its own AOC.
He also expressed the hope that the airline can obtain AOC if it meets the given requirements.
“We are the ones operating the aircraft and they are also under our maintenance and management, pending when the airline will obtain its AOC. I believe that if they meet the requirements of NCAA they will get their AOC. Anyone can obtain it if you meet the requirements,” Mahmood told THISDAY.
THISDAY
