Malappuram: After four years of wait for restoring the Haj emb-arkation point at Calicut International Airport at Karipur, the first Haj flight from the state will take off from there on July 7. The Saudi Airlines has submitted the Haj flight schedule to the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation which is expected to be approved soon.
For the first time, the state has two embarkation points this year-Karipur and Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery. The Haj embarkation point at Karipur, where the state Haj committee is headquartered, was moved to Nedumbassery four years ago after the DGCA banned wide-bodied aircraft citing safety issues.
The runway renovation was completed recently. According to the committee, the inaugural Haj flight will depart to Mad-ina from Karipur. The pilgrimage from Nedumba-ssery will begin on July 14.
The arrangements for the annual pilgrimage are in the final stage. The Haj committee and Airport Authority of India officials met on Tuesday to review the preparations at Karipur. Besides Haj house at Karipur, the airport has Haj hall which will also be reopened for the pilgrims after four years. The international arrival area of the old terminal, which remains closed, will also be opened for the Haj service. The HCI had allotted a total of 13,194 seats for the state, including additional seats. Among these 2011 women applicants without Mehram have been directly selected for the pilgrimage.
