The letter was sent to the aviation and tourism secretary on Monday.
The letter said, “Under the Saudi government’s Route to Mecca initiative, this year’s Hajj from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Saudi Arabia is expected to be completed in Dhaka.
The decision to operate the first Hajj flight was taken on May 31 in consultation with the Saudi authorities.
Besides, all kinds of preparations are also taken from the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
But today (Monday) a representative of the Saudi authorities implementing the Route to Mecca initiative came to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and informed that the Saudi team with 40 manpower for the Route to Mecca initiative will not be able to reach Dhaka before June 2.
‘The devices / equipment required for the implementation of pre-arrival immigration activities have not yet reached Dhaka.
All these devices / equipment will come to Dhaka with the mentioned Saudi team.
The equipment has to be installed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. This will take some time.
As a result, it will not be possible for them to complete the pre-arrival immigration of Hajj pilgrims from Dhaka before June 5.
The letter further said that if the first Hajj flight is started on May 31, it will not be possible to complete the pre-arrival immigration in Dhaka as expected by the Hajj pilgrims of Bangladesh.
According to the expectations of the Hajj pilgrims in Bangladesh, it is necessary to start the Hajj flight from 5th June instead of 31st May in the interest of completing the dedicated flight for the passengers of the first Hajj flight and pre-arrival immigration to Dhaka.
In this regard, the letter requested to take necessary steps to start the first Hajj flight from June 5 instead of May 31.
The holy Hajj will be held in Saudi Arabia on July 7, subject to the sighting of the moon. This time 56 thousand 565 people from Bangladesh will get the opportunity to perform Hajj. Of these, 4,000 will be able to go for Hajj under government management and 53,565 under private management.
