The first Hajj flight took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport with 419 Bangladeshi pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

The Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight left the airport around 7:40am, sources at the Biman Bangladesh Airlines told The Daily Star.

Civil Aviation Minister AKM Shajahan Kamal, Religious Affairs Minister Matior Rahman and top Biman officials bid farewell to the pilgrims at the airport.

The airlines would carry a total of 63,599 passengers during its hajj operation, which will end on August 15.

The national flag carrier owns four Boeing 777-300ER and two Boeing 737-800. The rest of the Biman aircraft are on lease. Of them, two are small Dash aircraft.

A total of 1,26,798 prospective hajj pilgrims are scheduled to perform hajj which is likely to be held on August 21 this year.

Of them, 6,798 will make the pilgrimage under government management while the remaining 1,20,000 will go under the private agencies.

The return hajj flight is scheduled to begin on August 27 and will continue till September 25.