The first group of Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims reached Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, with 1,224 pilgrims arriving as part of the initial phase, confirmed officials at the Hajj Office in Ashkona, Dhaka.
The Hajj is expected to take place on June 5, subject to the sighting of the moon.
The official Hajj flight operations for 2025 were inaugurated on Monday (April 28) at a ceremony held at the Hajj Camp in Dhaka where Religious Affairs Adviser AFM Khalid Hossain formally announced the start of this year’s pilgrimage.
Shortly after the launch, at around 2:15am, the first flight — Saudia SV-3803 — departed from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport carrying 398 pilgrims to Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Several additional flights operated overnight and into early Tuesday, transporting more pilgrims.
On the first day alone, 10 flights are scheduled to carry a total of 4,180 Hajj pilgrims. Of these, eight flights will land at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, while two will head to Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Medina.
According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, this year’s pre-Hajj operations will be conducted by three airlines — Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Saudia, and Flynas — which will run a total of 232 pre-Hajj flights until May 31.
Biman will operate 118 flights carrying 44,307 pilgrims, Saudia will operate 80 flights with 32,740 pilgrims, and Flynas will transport 13,065 pilgrims via 34 flights.
A total of 87,100 Bangladeshis are scheduled to perform Hajj in 2025. Of them, 5,200 will travel under the government’s official arrangement, while 81,900 will go through private Hajj agencies.
The return flights are set to begin on June 10.
To assist the pilgrims, the authorities have already introduced a dedicated mobile app and roaming SIM services to ensure better support during the pilgrimage.