"Because of the increased number of pilgrims this year, we have sought the assistance of several other airlines besides the regular Saudi Arabian Airlines and Biman Airlines, our national carrier," Islam said. Last year, around 94,000 pilgrims from the country performed Haj.
This year, a total of 3,731 pilgrims out of 106,965 will observe the annual pilgrimage under the government’s management.
The Bangladesh government signed contracts with the new carriers under the supervision of the country's Civil Aviation Minister Ghulam Muhammed Quader in Dhaka on Thursday.
National flag carrier Biman Airlines will carry some 50,000 passengers, Saudia will ferry another 20,000 and the rest by other carriers. The nine new airlines that have concluded agreements with the Bangladeshi government are United Airways Bangladesh (3,000 pilgrims), Air Arabia (2,500), Jet Airways (2,000), Kuwait Airways (3,000), Qatar Airways (2,300), Etihad Airways (1,900), RK Airways (4,000), Gulf Air (9,000) and Emirates Airlines (7,000).
Similar deals will be signed shortly with GMG Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Pakistan International Airlines, the envoy added.
According to the schedule, the pilgrims will depart from Dhaka between Sep. 26 to Oct. 31, while return flights will be operational from Nov. 15 to Dec. 16.
Islam said a special Haj delegation from the government would also arrive in Jeddah during the final phase of the Haj season. He added that the delegation would include top-level ministers and senior officials from the government.
This year, the cost of performing Haj will be around 300,000 Bangladeshi taka under the government, while it is a minimum 259,000 taka under private arrangements.
Biman will lease two additional Boeing 747-400s to ensure the smooth transportation of pilgrims this year. According to sources, one of them will be leased for three months and the other for one year.
