Trivandrum airport closed 5 hours | Thiru Arattu Procession of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple

Thiru Arattu Procession of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple in connection with Alpassi festival of 2023 #feelit #kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram International Airport will temporarily suspend flight services for five hours on Monday to accommodate the traditional "Arattu" procession of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. The procession, which is part of a longstanding practice involving the Travancore Royals, will pass through the airport runway.
The Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd announced that flight services will be halted from 4 pm to 9 pm to allow the Alpassi Arattu procession by the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. As a result of this ceremony, the schedules of four flights have been adjusted.
Once the procession concludes and returns to the temple, the airport runway will undergo cleaning and inspection. Only after this process is completed will flight services resume. This practice of temporarily pausing operations and rescheduling flights twice a year has been in place for decades, allowing the bi-annual ceremonial procession of the shrine to pass through the runway.

The tradition of the temple procession making its way to the Shangumugham beach for the holy bath of the idols dates back centuries, and it has continued even after the airport was established in 1932. Historical records reveal that when the airport was constructed, the then Travancore King Sree Chithira Thirunal made it clear that the facility would be open to the public for 363 days a year, reserving only two days for Lord Padmanabha, the titular deity of the royal family.

source and credit: The times of India