…Cross River’s aviation ambitions should remember Captain Cassandra Idagbo
By Onwa Ekor
As Cross River pushes a new aviation narrative around Cally Air, one name is missing from the conversation: Captain Cassandra Idagbo.
She is not asking for a job nor political appointment but she is the woman who broke the state’s glass ceiling in the sky long before Cally Air took off.
Idagbo, widely known as “Cassie Duke,” became Cross River’s first female pilot. The daughter of the late Chief Charles Effiom Duke, a respected cultural leader, she did not inherit her path to aviation. After studying French and working briefly as cabin crew, she pursued rigorous flight training in the United States and earned her wings.
Today, as the state expands Cally Air, officials are right to talk about aircraft, routes and investment. But an airline also needs institutional memory and role models that make the industry feel possible to the next generation.
Captain Idagbo currently holds no official role with Cally Air. Yet her experience and story carry both symbolic and practical value for Cross River. She could mentor young girls interested in STEM and aviation, advise on scholarship programs, and help shape aviation forums and policy discussions.
“A state’s history shouldn’t reset with every administration,” a source close to the aviation community noted. “The pioneers matter.”
Idagbo did not wait for Cross River to announce an airline before she entered the cockpit. As the state charts its future in the air, the question is not only where Cally Air will fly next, but how many more Cassandras Cross River is ready to inspire.
