First Hajj flight leaves Dhaka

Banglapress Online:The first Hajj flight of 2018 left Bangladesh for Saudi Arabia with 419 pilgrims aboard on Saturday morning. A total of 126,198 Bangladeshis will be allowed to make the pilgrimage this year, according to the agreement with Saudi Arabia. The government will facilitate 6,198 pilgrims to perform hajj and the remaining 120,000 pilgrims would perform hajj through private means. The first Hajj flight left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Jeddah at 7:52am on Saturday. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina officially launched the Hajj activities in Ashkona on July 11. Hajj flights began on Saturday and will continue until August 15. Return flights will start on August 27 and continue until September 25.