First Hajj return flight carrying 417 pilgrims lands in Dhaka

The first Hajj return flight of this year carrying 417 pilgrims landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 6:00 am on Friday.

The BG 332 flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines departed for Bangladesh from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Saudi Arabia at 8:30 pm, bdnews24.com reported.

Officials of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh and Biman Bangladesh Airlines greeted the pilgrims with flowers after they landed.

Biman CEO Md Zahidul Islam Bhuiyan, Additional Secretary Md Saiful Islam of the religious affairs ministry, and CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal Md Mafidur Rahman were present among others.

The authorities kept holy Zamzam water ready for the pilgrims. Each of them received a bottle while leaving the customs hall, said Bosra Islam, general manager of the Public Relations Department of Biman.

This year, Hajj was performed on Jun 15. The first Hajj flight departed on May 9 and the last one left on Jun 12.

Return flights began on Jun 20 according to the schedule. The last return flight is scheduled for Jul 22.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines will operate 125 dedicated Hajj flights for the pilgrims to return home. These will include 73 flights from Jeddah to Dhaka, 15 flights from Jeddah to Chattogram, two flights from Jeddah to Sylhet, 22 flights from Madinah to Dhaka, nine flights from Madinah to Chattogram and four flights from Madinah to Sylhet.

Besides Biman, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Flynas will also carry pilgrims to Bangladesh.

More than 85,000 pilgrims went to perform Hajj from Bangladesh this year.

As of now, 31 Bangladeshi pilgrims have died in Saudi Arabia - 25 men and six women.

Among them, 24 died in Makkah, four in Madinah, one in Jeddah and two in Mina.

Md Idrees Khan was the last Bangladeshi pilgrim reported to die in Makkah. The 66-year-old hailed from Madaripur’s Shibchar.