Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Md Delwar Hossain welcomed the pilgrims at the airport

A total of 50 Bangladeshi hajj pilgrims died in Saudi Arabia till this morning

Saudi Arabia said Sunday that more than 1,300 faithful died during the hajj pilgrimage which took place during intense heat, and that most of the deceased did not have official permits

Diplomats on Tuesday said at least 550 pilgrims died during the hajj, underscoring the gruelling nature of the pilgrimage which again unfolded in scorching temperatures this year

Of the deceased, 69 are male and 22 are female

More than 400 Hajj passengers were stuck at the Dhaka Airport for around eight hours yesterday (June 18, 2022).

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has warned Biman Bangladesh and Saudia airlines over carrying hajj pilgrims to Jeddah, instead of taking them to their scheduled destination, Madinah, causing them immense difficulties.

Although the government had said that immigration of hajj pilgrims at the Saudi end will be completed at Dhaka airport from the first day of hajj flight, it has not happened today.

This year, hajj pilgrims have to carry negative report of Covid-19 test – done within 72 hours before boarding flight from Bangladesh.

This year’s Hajj flights will start from May 31, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali said today.

Due to a lack of aspiring pilgrims for this year’s hajj, the religious affairs ministry today extended the deadline for registration till April 8.

Bangladeshi hajj pilgrims this year will not have to wait for completing the immigration process at Saudi Arabia airports as the Saudi government is going to do it in Dhaka.

The government extends the deadline by 10 days for the registration of Hajj pilgrims under private managements.

The intending Hajj pilgrims will not require any police verification from this year, Religious Affairs Minister Motiur Rahman says.

The airfare for the hajj pilgrims this year is fixed at 1575 US dollars.

Time is running out for some 15,000 hajj pilgrims who are yet to receive their visas. Although the religious ministry has given a 48-hour ultimatum (that runs out today) to 16 agencies to complete the visa related procedures to send 3,000 pilgrims by August 26, we need to ask some hard questions regarding bungling of this year's hajj.

Biman yesterday took a number of emergency measures including suspending operations on Dhaka-Doha and Dhaka-Kuwait City routes until August 26 to ferry the hajj pilgrims who could not fly due to flight cancellations.

Twelve hajj agencies are yet to complete visa procedures of around 2,400 pilgrims, creating uncertainty over their pilgrimage this

Biman Bangladesh and Saudi Arabian Airlines yesterday used their full capacity, for the first time in around a week, to carry pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

Hassles for hajj pilgrims are a regular phenomenon. Previously, it was botched flight schedules. And now it has come to light that additional fees on repeat pilgrims have been imposed! This has left around 40,000 pilgrims in the lurch.