First Hajj flight on May 21 with quota unfulfilled

The quota for Bangladeshi pilgrims is 127,198 this year

The first flight of Hajj pilgrims from Bangladesh will fly on May 21, with the quota still unfulfilled after the end of the deadline for registration.

State Minister for Religious Affairs Faridul Haque Khan announced the date at the publication of the E-Hajj mobile app and Hajj and Umrah Guide Book on Wednesday.

As many as 127,198 pilgrims from Bangladesh are allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia for the annual Islamic ritual this year. They include 15,000 pilgrims who will travel under the government's travel package, while the other trips are managed by privately-run Hajj travel agencies.

The registration began on Feb 8 and ended on Apr 11 after eight extensions of the deadline. The government opened the registration for another day on Tuesday under special arrangements, but it still needs 6,707 pilgrims to fulfil the quota.

The government had to extend the registration deadline as demand fell after the price of the Hajj package went up by Tk 150,000-Tk 200,000.

Faridul said if the Hajj coordinators are counted, around 3,000 pilgrims will be needed to fulfil the quota, but no more registration will be allowed.

“It’s not a big number, compared to other countries,” he said, and added the government was thinking about cutting the house rent next year by choosing locations far from the pilgrim sites.

The Hajj will be held by the end of June with the exact date depending on the sighting of the moon.