On October 23, 2023, from 4 pm to 9 pm, flight operations at Thiruvananthapuram Airport in Kerala, India, will be momentarily paused to accommodate the Alpassi Arattu Procession by Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. According to a report by news agency PTI, the customary “Arattu” procession of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple would pass down the runway, causing a temporary stoppage of aircraft operations for five hours.
The Travancore Royals participate in an ancient tradition known as the Alpassi Arattu Procession. The 10-day Navaratri celebration, which is held at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, comes to a close with the parade. The Lord Padmanabha and Goddess Lakshmi statues are submerged in the Arabian Sea at Shankumugham Beach, where the procession terminates.
Flight Operations Are Canceled On Suspended on October 23 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The customary “Arattu” procession of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple will pass along the runway on October 23 for five hours, TIAL said on Tuesday. As a result, flight operations at the international airport here would be temporarily paused. The custom is in keeping with a Travancore Royals tradition that dates back many years.
According to a statement from the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd (TIAL), aircraft operations will be halted on October 23 from 4 pm to 9 pm in order to accommodate the Alpassi Arattu procession by the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. It said that the individual airlines have the most recent flight schedules available.
Since many years ago, the airport has had to pause operations and reschedule flights twice a year in order to make room for the shrine’s bi-annual, centuries-old ceremonial procession to pass over the runway.
Even after the airport was built in 1932, the custom of temple procession traveling through the area on its way to Shangumugham beach for the idols’ holy baths dates back many generations.
According to historians, the then-Travancore King Sree Chithira Thirunal had made it clear when the airport was built at that location that it would be accessible to the general public for 363 days of the year and for two days for Lord Padmanabha, the titular deity of the royal dynasty. Even after the Adani Group took over airport administration, the royal period ritual has continued.
