First Hajj flight bringing pilgrims back delayed by almost seven hours

The first flight bringing Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims back from Saudi Arabia is expected to land in Dhaka almost seven hours behind schedule.

The return flight from Jeddah was supposed to arrive around 9am Monday but is now scheduled towards 4pm, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Public Relations Officer Tasnim Aktar told bdnews24.com.
 
“The flight is due around 4pm or a little later because of certain complications,” she said.
 
When asked what the problems were, she said, “The Hajj pilgrims had not reported at the terminal within the specified time. Many of them came late. This is not unusual. But there is a special situation this time. The pilgrims are in a state of trauma.”
 
Altogether, 419 are returning by the first flight after performing Hajj. More than 100,000 people from Bangladesh have been on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia this year.
 
Right at the beginning of this year’s Hajj season, 117 people, including a Bangladeshi national, were killed when a crane toppled over at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
 
Later, towards the close of the pilgrimage on Sep 24, 769 people were killed in a stampede at Mina while the devotees were on their way to the stoning ritual at the pillars symbolising Satan. 
 
Until Sunday, the Saudi authorities released 650 photographs of those who died in the stampede. The Bangladesh foreign ministry has identified two of them to be Bangladeshi nationals.
 
Biman will operate flights until Oct 28 to bring the pilgrims back, said Tasnim Aktar.