Dhaka: Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) will operate a total of 80 dedicated Hajj flights carrying 30,485 pilgrims to Jeddah and Madinah from Bangladesh this year.

The maiden hajj flight to Jeddah, operated with a Boeing 777-300, departed Dhaka on April 29, carrying 398 pilgrims.

AFM Khalid Hossain, Advisor to the Ministry of Religious Affairs; Sk Bashir Uddin, Advisor to Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism: Abdulaziz Fahad M Al Ibrahim, Acting Ambassador of Saudi Arabia in Bangladesh; Nasren Jahan, Secretary of Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism’ and Md Monjur Kabir Bhuiyan, Chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh; were present at the inauguration ceremony of Saudia’s hajj operations in Bangladesh on April 28 at Dhaka Airport.

Sami M Al Gadi Saudia, Station Manager, Saudia Airlines; and Ahmed Yusuf Walid, Managing Director of Saudia Airline’s GSA (United Link ltd); were also present on the occasion.

This year, a total of 87,100 Bangladeshi pilgrims are scheduled to perform Hajj. Of them, 5,200 will travel under government arrangements, while 81,900 will be managed by private Hajj agencies.

All these hajj pilgrims departing from Dhaka are enjoying the facilities of Route to Makkah (RTM) initiative jointly implementing by the government of Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, through which Hajj pilgrims can do flight check-in and the Bangladesh part of immigration at Hajj camp in Ashkona, while the Saudi part of immigration is completed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital.

Their luggage is taken at check-in process at Hajj camp and is delivered at their hotel/house in Makkah and Madinah.

-T