Cross River State will start night landing operations at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, from November 1, ahead of an expected surge in passenger traffic during the 2026 Calabar Carnival.
The airport will continue to receive flights until 10pm daily, while the state airline, Cally Air, operated by ValuJet, will increase its flight frequency to the airport to airlift the many visitors expected from overseas and different parts of Nigeria for the carnival.
The plan was disclosed by Governor Senator Bassey Otu, who projected that Calabar, the state capital, will host over a million people during this year’s festival.
Otu said the Calabar Carnival and the implementation of new economic policies under his administration had turned Calabar, a trade route for centuries, into a go-to city.
He said this was why his government decided to make Cally Air a strong airline by boosting its fleet with about eight aircraft. He expressed hope that the airline would soon obtain its Air Operator Certificate to become a full-service carrier.
The governor stated, “In order to connect all these together, there was that need to have a flight in and out of Calabar, where people can be sure when they are coming in and also be very sure when they are going out. The tempo increased when we came into government. Because our development partners particularly in the private sector started coming here almost all the time. And it will please you to also know that this is the best destination for investment.
“So, we have a lot of visitors, a lot of conferences holding here all the time. But in order to achieve that our modest choice of excellence, we decided that we should upscale our aviation sector.”
Otu said, “Today we have well about eight aircraft already. We are flying so we don’t have any issue in terms of mobility. The airport we have in Obudu, we have gone quite far. It is just that airport structures are well regulated.
“You have to pass some very strict regulations before you move to the next. We are following it so that we can get our AOC and also get everything in proper perspective.”
