Hajj flights to start from 5 June: Ministry

Flights carrying Bangladeshi pilgrims to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj will begin on June 5 instead of May 31, said the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The decision was taken at a ministry meeting on Tuesday (24 May) following the request of the Saudi government.

According to sources, an inter-ministerial meeting had earlier decided to begin Hajj flights on 31 May.

However, Saudi authorities sent a letter to Bangladesh on Monday (23 May) afternoon to reschedule the date.

This year, 31,000 people will travel on 75 Biman Bangladesh flights and the same amount on Saudia Airlines.

This year, the government has fixed Tk1.40 lakh as plane fare.

Earlier in 2019, the airfare for hajj pilgrims was Tk1.28 lakh.             

This year, a total of 57,856 pilgrims will be able to perform Hajj from Bangladesh.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia raised the number of Hajj pilgrims from inside and outside the kingdom to one million in 2022, authorities announced in a statement on 9 April.

Hajj is open to those who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and are under the age of 65, added the statement.

Pilgrims travelling from abroad will also need to have a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before their departure to Saudi Arabia.

Last year, 58,745 pilgrims performed Hajj in the world because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Before the pandemic, some 2.5 million people used to travel every year to Saudi Arabia for Hajj.