Outburst on indefinite suspension of Ibom Air flight to Calabar

A concerned Cross Riverian has described the sudden suspension of flights by Ibom Air, the official airline of Akwa Ibom State government to Calabar as sabotage.

Dr. Peter Inyali made his feelings known while fielding questions from newsmen on Wednesday in a press release titled “Ibom Airs’s indefinite suspension of flights to Calabar; Cross River Dealing with a Dangerously Envious Neighbor” where he wrote about his suspicion that the trending messaging of male genital organ disappearance in Calabar, the Cross River State capital was a hoax and a de-marketing strategy targeted at Carnival Calabar 2023 and indeed Cross River State tourism.

“away from the genital strategy to fight the resurgence of Calabar Carnival and tourism under Governor Bassey Otu’s administration, the Akwa Ibom state owned air line, Ibom Air, has shockingly suspended operation in Margret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar indefinitely for operational reason.

Adding, “in whatever reason may be that the airline consider this period, barely nine days to the commencement of the Carnival Calabar a 31-day nonstop international festival to shutdown operation to Calabar cannot be mere coincidence as this is the period that Cross River expects and indeed receives the highest number of visitors and tourists”.

He recalled that Akwa Ibom state had copied Cross River and have introduced their own one month long festival every December arguing that it portends economic battle against the state just to discourage tourists from visiting Cross River State for the epoch annual event compounded by the pathetic condition of Calabar/Itu road, the major access to Cross River on land, while the water-ways connecting Oron to Calabar, is risky due to activities of sea pirates.

He complained that since the launch of Ibom Air, Calabar has been one of the biggest markets for the airline because of the unreliability of Air Peace and alleged that Ibom Air management from the beginning decided to export passengers coming to Calabar and from Cross River State by hiking the fare almost 40% even when the distance between Uyo and Calabar from all its routes in the country are not the same.

Inyali urged the Cross River State government to rise-up to this challenge by quickly negotiating with any reliable airline to start immediate flight to Calabar even if it is a stop-gap for the next one month and that government should pay for unbooked seats whenever the need arises to attract airlines. This according to him is to address perceived economic sabotage of Ibom Air.

Effort to reach out to the management of Ibom Air for comment was naught at the time of filing this report.

By: Archibong Emmanuel
(Snr. Reporter)