Kerala airport set to halt flights for 5 hrs for 'God's passage'

The Thiruvananthapuram international airport here is once again ready to close its runway and halt flight operations for five hours on Tuesday afternoon to enable the smooth passage of the GodThe airport has been stopping operations and rescheduling flights twice in every year for decades to enable the biannual centuriesold ceremonial procession of the famous Padmanabha Swamy temple here to pass through the runwayAs one of the Aaratu processions of the temple marking the culmination of the Alpassi festival falls on Tuesday the airport authorities here informed that the flight services shall remain suspended for five hours from 400 pm to 900 pmThe practice of closing the airport for the ritualistic procession has been continuing without any fail even after the Adani Group took over its management last yearAlso read Police arrests woman accused of poisoning male friend to death in KeralaTo enable and facilitate smooth continuation of a centuriesold ritual by Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple for the Alpassi Arattu procession through the runway of the Thiruvananthapuram International airport the flight services shall remain suspended from 1600 to 2100 hours on the 1st November 2022 the airport management said here in a statementDomestic and international services during this period have been rescheduledAn airport source said that at least 10 flights have been rescheduled for the ritualist procession as of nowThere is an Aaratu mandapam near the runway where the temple idols are being kept for some time as part of the ritual during the procession We are keeping it with all sanctity We are facilitating the passage of the traditional procession The flight companies are also extending all cooperation to retain the legacy the source told PTIHistorian Malayinkeezhu Gopalakrishnan said the mandapam which is now located near the airport runway is known as karikku tender coconut mandapamThe practice of keeping the idols for some time at this structure began during the reign of erstwhile king Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma in the 18th century It was said that there was a practice to offer tender coconut for those who take part in the procession at the mandapam That might be the reason the structure was named like that he told PTIThe procession would further proceed after some brief pujas and ritualsAccording to the traditional practice the processional idols of the temple deities would be carried to the sea behind the airport for a holy dip twice a year in a ceremonial march which has been taking this route even before the airport was established in 1932The airport issues a NOTAM Notice to Airmen twice every year before the runway is closed during the biannual Alpashy festival which falls in OctoberNovember and the Panguni festival in MarchAprilAfter a dip in the sea off Shankumugham beach the idols would be taken back to the shrine in a procession lit by traditional torches which marks the conclusion of the festivalThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever