First flight of Hajj pilgrims tomorrow

The first flight for Hajj pilgrims this year will commence on August 4, Thursday, from Hazrat Shahjajal International Airport to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugarate the Hajj activities today, Mohammad Ibrahim Bahar, president of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (Haab), told The Daily Star on Monday.

A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines is scheduled to carry the first 419 pilgrims, added the Haab president. “More than 2,500 pilgrims under governemnt management and 5,500 under private hajj services have already received their visas from the Saudi emabassy in Dhaka. We hope there will be no mismanagement in this year's hajj services.”

A total of 1,01,758 Bangladeshis are expected to perform Hajj this year. Only 10,000 of them would perform Hajj under government management while 91,758 might perform the holy ritual under private managements.

All private Hajj agencies have already completed reservation for accommodation of the Bangladeshi pilgrims and they have made required fund deposits in bank accounts authorised by the Saudi authorities, Bahar confirmed adding, “The agencies are now busy verifying the confirmation of visas and air tickets for the pilgrims.”

Biman Bangladesh Airlines -- the national flag carrier of Bangladesh -- and Saudi Arabian Airlines have been selected by the government for carrying the Hajj pilgrims this year.    

Both airlines will carry equal number of passengers and maximum luggage allowance for each passenger will be 46 kilograms.

A number of unscrupulous brokers have been deceiving the pilgrims by charging extra money for air tickets -- admitting this complaint from a Haab agent, the Haab president hoped that this issue will be resolved soon since it has been raised to the government already. 

Abdul Jalil, secretary of Ministry of Religious Affairs, said, “We've taken all measures for smooth operation of the flights. If any Hajj agent fails to complete the procedure and any of their pilgrims miss a flight, the concerned agent will be reprimanded severely.”

The Bangladesh Hajj Mission in Saudi Arabia has already completed its preparations for ensuring a smoother management for the Hajj pilgrims this year, AKM Masudur Rahman, a Hajj counsellor, told The Daily Star from Saudi Arabia over phone on Sunday.

Two medical teams, for overseeing health issues of the pilgrims, have reached Saudi Arabia last week, he added.

Earlier in June, Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism at an inter-ministerial meeting on Hajj preparations at the Secretariat decided to begin Hajj flights from August 4.

The outgoing flights will continue till September 5 and the return flights will start from September 17 to October 16. The holy Hajj is likely to be held on September 12, subject to moon sighting.

In January, the government announced two Hajj packages costing Tk 3.05 lakh and Tk 3.6 lakh.

Haab has set Tk 3.05 lakh for performing this year's Hajj under private management.