Bangladesh Hajj flights to start April 29

Cairo: Flights carrying Bangladeshi pilgrims for the upcoming annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia will start on April 29, a Bangladeshi official has said.

The first batch of Bangladeshi pilgrims are due to fly this year aboard a Saudi Airlines flight on April 29 from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

"This year, we have completed all formalities for 5,200 registered Hajj pilgrims through the government, including allotment of tents in Mina and Arafah, an agreement with catering service companies, an agreement with home or hotel authorities, an agreement with transport companies," Religious Affairs Adviser AFM Khalid Hossain added.

Some 81,900 more pilgrims have registered for performing Hajj through 753 local agencies, he said at a press conference in Dhaka.

The adviser, however, said most of these agencies were acting as sub agents while the pilgrims would travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj under the official management of 70 agencies and under strict government monitoring, the Bangladeshi portal BSS News reported.

He said the Saudi government had earlier cautioned the agents to ensure appropriate management of transport and catering services-- particularly tent accommodations in the holy sites of Mina and Arafat near Mecca.

Bangladesh is among several countries covered by a Saudi project, known as the "Road to Mecca" Initiative offering pilgrimage-associated facilities.

In 2018, the Saudi Interior Ministry relaunched the initiative that gives pilgrims from several countries access to facilities. The initiative kicked off on a trial basis a year earlier.

The facilities include issuance of electronic visas at home, finalising passport procedures as well as tagging and sorting out luggage at the departure airports.

On arrival in Saudi Arabia, those pilgrims head directly to their residences in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina while their luggage are delivered right to their residences.

Hajj is one of Islam’s five obligatory duties. Muslims, who can physically and financially afford Hajj, have to perform it at least once in a lifetime.