Biman to operate 118 pre-Hajj, 108 post-Hajj dedicated flights this year

Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the national flag carrier of the country, will operate a total of 118 pre-Hajj and 108 post-Hajj dedicated flights this year, bringing the total number of flights to 226.

Boshra Islam, general manager (public relations) of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines, confirmed the update to the FE.

Of the pre-Hajj flights, 96 will be operated on the Dhaka-Jeddah and Dhaka Medina routes, 17 on the Chattogram-Jeddah and Chattogram-Medina routes and 5 on the Sylhet-Jeddah and Sylhet-Medina routes.

On the other hand, 27 post-Hajj flights will be operated on Medina-Dhaka routes, 5 on Medina-Chattogram and 2 on Medina-Sylhet routes, 59 on Jeddah-Dhaka, 12 on Jeddah-Chattogram and 3 on Jeddah-Sylhet routes.

Pre-Hajj flights will be operated from April 29 to May 31, while post-Hajj flights will be operated from June 10 to July 10. Biman's first flight will depart from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka at 3.00 am on April 29 with 419 pilgrims on board.

However, Saudia Airlines will operate the first Hajj flight from Dhaka airport 45 minutes earlier, at 2.15 am on the day.

This year, a total of 87,100 pilgrims from Bangladesh are going to perform the holy Hajj. Biman Bangladesh will provide transportation to 44,000 pilgrims, which is almost 50 percent of the total number. Biman will operate all the flights using its own aircraft, said the official.

Of the remaining 50 percent of passengers, 35 per cent will be carried by Saudia Airlines, national flag carrier of the Saudi Arabia, and 15 per cent by Flynas, a private airline of the country.

A total of 5,200 pilgrims will go under government arrangements, while remaining 81,900 pilgrims will go under private arrangements.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 pilgrims have yet to receive visas as their transport agreement has not been cleared due to server complexity although only four days remain before the first flight takes off, said Farid Ahmed Mazumder, secretary general of the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB). He, however, is hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon, as the ministry concerned and other stakeholders are working on it.

bikashju@gmail.com