Steps taken to safe journey of Hajj pilgrims, says minister
Air tickets for 93,761 confirmed
The government has already arranged air tickets for a record 93,761 Hajj pilgrims this year.
"We have already signed agreements with other airlines as third carrier to ensure journey of all Hajj pilgrims on time,” Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister GM Quader told the news agency yesterday.
“We have taken all kind of preparations to ensure safe journey of this record number of Hajj pilgrims so that no one faces any difficulty in getting air ticket,” he said.
The ministry has already issued circular directing Hajj agencies to buy tickets from those airlines that signed agreements with Biman Bangladesh to ensure on time journey of the devotees.
Quader also asked the airlines concerned to issue tickets to the Hajj agencies as per their quotas and list of pilgrims on a “first come first serve” basis.
Among the pilgrims, Biman Bangladesh Airlines will carry 34,000 and 28,000 by Saudia Airlines while the rest by other airlines, said Biman sources.
Biman has already rented two Boeing aircrafts from an Australian company to carry the extra number of Hajj pilgrims, it said.
Hajj Officer Bazlul Huq Biswas said the number of Hajj pilgrims this year crossed all records of the past. “The number has almost doubled comparing to last year's 58,000,” he said.
Of the Hajj devotees, 6,629 pilgrims will perform Hajj under government management, costing Tk 2.28 lakh each.
This year, many Hajj agencies offered cost-effective tour packages like the government, which is one of the reasons behind the unexpected increase in the number of Hajj pilgrims, he said.
He said they made a provision this year that no visa would be issued before buying air tickets to check harassment of the intended Hajj pilgrims.
Presently, the Hajj agencies are busy renting houses in Saudi Arabia for the devotees and they will start applying for visa from next week.
Biswas said they have already arranged visas for all Hajj pilgrims under the government programme and the Hajj flights will begin on October 8.
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