Hajj flights likely from 31 May: State Minister

Hajj flights might start from 31 May, said State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali.

This year, 31,000 people will travel on 75 Biman Bangladesh flights and the same amount on Saudia Airlines, said the state minister at the Secretariat on Wednesday following a meeting with stakeholders.

This year, the government has fixed Tk 1.40 lakh as plane fare. 

"Due to the increasing price of fuel the fare is a little high, yet we have tried to keep the price low keeping the pilgrims in mind", added Mahbub Ali.

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.

The government has taken necessary preparations to ensure smooth and safe hajj for the pilgrims, said State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan recently.

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 April 9.

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.