An aircraft of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying 415 hajj pilgrims left Dhaka today (May 21, 2023) for Saudi Arabia -- the first hajj flight this year. The flight BG-3001 took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 3:20 am and was scheduled to land in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at 7:20 am (local time). Four more flights of Biman Bangladesh Airlines are scheduled to depart Dhaka with hajj pilgrims for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) today. State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali, State Minister for Religion Md Faridul Haque Khan, lawmaker Habib Hasan, Biman Governing Council Chairman Mustafa Kamal Uddin, and KSA Ambassador to Bangladesh Issa Bin Youssef Al-Dahilan, among others, saw off the hajj pilgrims at Dhaka airport. Read more: PM inaugurates Hajj programme-2023 Earlier, at an event organized to mark the first hajj flight, at the airport, State Minister Mahbub sought prayers from the pilgrims for happiness, peace, prosperity, and advancement of the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He said all-out preparations have been taken to ensure the smooth operation of hajj flights like the past years. This year, Biman Bangladesh Airlines authorities will carry 61,111 hajj pilgrims out of total 1, 22,221 with its five aircraft. The rest will be carried by the Saudia and Flynas.   Lauding the prime minister’s diplomatic success, the state minister said the immigration of the hajj passengers at the KSA end is being completed in Dhaka under the ‘Road to Makkah Initiative’.   He said several initiatives were taken to ease sufferings of the pilgrims and no passenger has been subjected to harassment for booking tickets after initiating a new rule and enhanced monitoring since 2019. The Biman authorities concerned will conduct 162 pre-hajj flights from May 21 to June 22, and 168 post-hajj flights from July 2 to August 3 this year. Like last year, Biman will operate flights from Chattogram and Sylhet to Jeddah and Madinah along with Dhaka this year. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the hajj programme on May 19. Read more: Pray that Bangladesh is safe from man-made or natural disasters: PM to Hajj pilgrims