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Download PDF Hajj performance of around 4,000 prospective non-ballottee pilgrims will become uncertain even if the national flag carrier arranges additional hajj flights of its own, unless foreign airlines also agree to do so.
The number of ill-fated prospective pilgrims may rise to 12,000 if Bangladesh Biman also fails to operate additional flights for three more days.
The civil aviation and tourism ministry tried to persuade seven foreign airlines to share the additional burden due to what Bangladesh Biman called its incapacity.
The ministry on December 10 asked seven foreign airlines Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Singapore Airlines — to operate extra hajj flights for non-ballottee pilgrims, who perform hajj under the management of different private hajj agencies, but the authorities of the airlines expressed their inability to do so, Biman sources said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Biman has been trying to get additional landing slots for its own flights in Jeddah Airport.
The civil aviation and tourism ministry applied to Jeddah airport authorities for 11 additional slots for Biman’s hajj flights for the period of December 23 to 25, but the clearance has not come yet, the sources said adding that they will know about it tomorrow. The original schedule for Biman’s hajj flights has been from November 26 to December 22.
The crisis emerged when Bangladesh Biman had to cancel 20 of its hajj flights from November 31 to December 4 because the Saudi government had not issued ‘tasria’, fitness certificate for the rented houses where the non-ballottee pilgrims are supposed to stay.
A vast number of non-ballottee pilgrims could not get visas on time as the Saudi embassy in Dhaka enforced a strict tasria regulation for issuing visas.
The civil aviation ministry alleged that the private hajj agencies failed to get tasria because they had rented substandard houses in violation of rules.
Later, the tasria problem was managed after Information and Religious Affairs Adviser Mahbubul Alam, and erstwhile textile and jute affairs adviser Sultana Kamal had flown to Saudi Arabia to settle the issue with the authorities there in the first week of this month.
“The problems of tasria and visas for non-ballottee hajj pilgrims are over but all pilgrims will not be able to perform the hajj this year if foreign airlines do not agree to fly additional four thousand pilgrims,” said Mohammed Ruhul Amin, a member of Hajj Agencies’ Association of Bangladesh (Haab).
He also said hajj performance of 8000 more prospective non-ballottee hajis will become uncertain if Biman fails to avail the 11 additional landing slots in Jeddah Airport.
Mamdud Khan, general manager (flight operation) of Bangladesh Biman Corporation, said “We hope to carry 8,200 pilgrims in three additional days.”
“Most hajj flights of Biman are operating without being fully booked while 20 flights have so far been cancelled for lack of passengers causing a loss of Tk 39 crore for the national airline,” he said.
Biman initially planned 67 hajj flights for 32,000 hajis out of a total of 49,000 prospective pilgrims from Bangladesh up to December 22. But it has so far carried around 14,000 pilgrims to Jeddah and now has the capacity of carrying only 6,500 more hajj passengers by December 22.
Everyday, Biman flies some nine hundred pilgrims to Jeddah on its two dedicated hajj flights, sources said.
Leaders of Haab urged the caretaker government to take more effective initiatives to persuade the foreign airlines to carry additional hajj passengers.
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