First Hajj flight departs Dhaka

FT ONLINE

The first hajj flight, carrying 419 pilgrims, left in Dhaka for Saudi Arabia on Saturday morning.

A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Boeing 777-300ER with the Bangladeshi pilgrims took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 7:52 am.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister A K M Shahjahan Kamal and Religious Affairs Minister Principal Motiur Rahman saw the pilgrims off at the airport, said a press release of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

This year, a total of 1, 27,198 persons will go to Saudi Arabia for performing Hajj.

Bangladesh Biman will carry 63,599 pilgrims operating 187 flights. Of them, 7,198 will go under government management and rest 56,401 under private management.
  
The pilgrims will go to Saudi Arabia through 528 hajj agencies. The Hajj flight will continue till August 15 and the return hajj flights are scheduled to begin on August 27 and will continue till September 25.