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Flight services at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport will be temporarily suspended for five hours on October 23 to enable the traditional "Arattu" procession of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple to pass through the runway. The ritual is in line with a decades-old practice involving the Travancore Royals.
In a social media post last week, the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd (TIAL) said that flight services would be suspended from 4 pm to 9 pm on October 23 to facilitate the Alpassi Arattu procession.
"Dear passengers, on October 23, 2023, flight services will be suspended from 1600 hrs to 2100 hrs to enable the smooth continuation of the holy Arattu procession through our runway," the post read.
It added that the updated timings of the flights are available with the respective airlines. After the procession returns to the temple, the tarmac would be cleaned and inspected and only after that the flight services would resume, it said.
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Dear passengers, on October 23, 2023, flight services will be suspended from 1600 hrs to 2100 hrs to enable the smooth continuation of the holy Arattu procession through our runway.
— Thiruvananthapuram International Airport (@TRV_Airport_Off) October 17, 2023
Our team is committed to ensuring your journey remains seamless at our #GatewayToGoodness. pic.twitter.com/fha54eg9eu
The airport has been pausing operations and rescheduling flights twice every year for decades to enable the bi-annual centuries-old ceremonial procession of the shrine to pass through the runway.
The practice of the temple procession passing along the route to reach the Shangumugham beach for the holy bath of the idols began centuries ago, and it has been continuing even after the establishment of the airport in 1932.
When the airport was constructed, the then Travancore King Sree Chithira Thirunal had made it clear that the facility would be open to the public for 363 days in a year and for two days for Lord Padmanabha, the titular deity of the royal family, according to historians as reported by news agency PTI.
The royal-era ritual has been continuing even after the Adani Group took over the management of the airport.
(With PTI inputs)
