PATHANAMTHITTA: The demand to consider the Kodumon Estate for the proposed Sabarimala airport has gained fresh momentum, with the revenue department confirming that the district collector has been instructed to prepare and submit a report on the site. “The development comes as the follow-up of a Kerala High Court directive dated November 7, 2024, asking the state to include the government-owned Kodumon plantation in the ongoing Social Impact Study on the airport project,” said Dr Varghese Perayil, president of Kodumon Airport Action Council, which has been actively campaigning for the site instead of the proposed Erumeli site in Kottayam.
In a reply dated September 10, 2025, the Revenue Department Under Secretary informed that the Principal Secretary’s order of March 15, 2025 had already tasked the Pathanamthitta collector with examining the feasibility of setting up the airport at Kodumon estate, he said.
He also pointed out that a follow-up action is still awaited from the district administration. The state-owned Kodumon estate, spread across 1,200 hectares of revenue land in Adoor taluk, is a strong contender for the proposed Sabarimala airport. The land, lying mostly unused and covered with shrubs, spans Kodumon, Angadickal, Kalanjoor and Enadimangalam villages. The Kodumon Airport Action Council has been advocating for the site for the past four years, stressing that it poses no ecological hurdles.
Apart from the ecological factors, four railway stations are located within 30 km. Major highways -- KP Road, MC Road, Punalur-Muvattupuzha and Mavelikkara-Pathanamthitta roads -- are within a distance of 10 km.
The site would benefit travellers from neighbouring Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Idukki districts, as well as bordering districts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the action committee said.
The airport which is proposed to come up in Pathanamthitta district, will also ease the administrative hurdles related to Sabarimala, which is also situated in the same district and support the heavy pilgrim inflow to Pandalam, Parumala, Aranmula, Manjanikkara and Maramon, along with the neighbouring states’ shrines. KSRTC could also operate dedicated services from Kodumon.
According to the committee, as the land is government-owned, no acquisition or displacement is required, saving crores for the state. Central Travancore, especially Pathanamthitta, has a high density of expatriates. The airport would significantly ease travel for the diaspora. Several NRIs have already expressed willingness to invest, they say.