The new 'Greenfield Airport' project in Kerala's Kottayam district, which is adjacent to the Sabarimala temple in the Pathanamthitta district, received site permission from the ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) on Monday. For the hundreds of devotees who go to the state to visit the revered shrine of Lord Ayyappa, this announcement is anticipated to be advantageous.

After several rounds of discussions between the ministry and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), the project's promoter, the project was approved. According to the Ministry, this airport will increase connectivity and contribute to the region's overall development.

With an estimated expenditure of $40,000 million, the Kottayam Greenfield Airport project would be built on a 2,250-acre plot of land using a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The announcement of the new airport at Sabarimala was shared on Twitter by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. He hailed it as "great news" for tourism, especially for people travelling for spiritual reasons.

Wonderful news, especially for spiritual tourism, Modi wrote.