Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram airport halts flights for ‘Alpassi Arattu’ procession on October 20

Flight operations at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport will be suspended for five hours on October 20 to allow the traditional lsquoAlpassi Arattursquo procession of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple to pass along the runway the airport operator said on SundayThiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd TIAL said operations would remain suspended from 4 pm to 9 pm to facilitate the centuriesold religious procession Passengers have been advised to check with their respective airlines for revised flight schedules PTI rpeortedCenturiesold tradition continuesThe twiceyearly suspension of airport operations is part of a longstanding tradition associated with the Travancore royal family The ceremonial procession of the temple deity passes through the airport runway on its way to Shangumugham Beach where the idols are taken for a ritual holy bathThe practice has continued for centuries and was retained even after the airport was established in 1932Travancore king had reserved two days for the ritualAccording to historians when the airport was built the then Travancore King Sree Chithira Thirunal had stipulated that it would remain open to the public for 363 days a year with two days reserved for Lord Padmanabha the titular deity of the royal familyThe airport has accordingly paused operations and rescheduled flights twice a year to accommodate the temples ceremonial processionsTradition continues under Adani Group managementThe ritual has continued even after the Adani Group took over the management of Thiruvananthapuram International AirportThe upcoming suspension on October 20 will facilitate the lsquoAlpassi Arattursquo procession one of the temples traditional biannual ceremoniesPakistan extends airspace ban on Indian aircraft until November 24Meanwhile Pakistan has extended its airspace ban on Indianregistered aircraft and planes owned operated or leased by Indian airlines for another month until November 24 according to the countryrsquos airports authorityThe restriction initially imposed on April 23 2025 has been extended periodically since then amid strained relations between the two neighbouring countriesThe Pakistan Airports Authority PAA announced the extension in a post on X on Saturday stating that the restriction also covers military flightsThe latest extension will remain in effect until 459 am local time on November 24 2026 according to the authorityA PAA spokesperson said a fresh Notice to Airmen NOTAM had been issued to extend the ban Geo News reportedPakistanrsquos airspace is divided into two flight information regions FIRs Karachi and Lahore according to a 2022 document from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority PCAA The latest NOTAM applies to both regionsIndia and Pakistan imposed reciprocal airspace restrictions on each otherrsquos aircraft following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and KashmirIndia accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack an allegation Islamabad denied The incident was followed by a sharp escalation in diplomatic and military tensions between the two countriesIndia closed its airspace to Pakistani airlines on April 30 2025 in response to Pakistanrsquos movePakistan has imposed airspace restrictions on Indian aircraft during previous periods of heightened tensions including the 1999 Kargil conflict and the 2019 Pulwama crisis according to Geo NewsThe continuing airspace restrictions have affected airline operations between the two countries forcing carriers to take longer routes on some international flightsWith PTI inputs