On the inaugural day of the holy Hajj pilgrimage, a total of 1984 Bangladeshi pilgrims reached Saudi Arabia, as reported by the bulletin of the Hajj management portal on Thursday at 11:59 pm.

The bulletin highlighted that the first government-operated flight carrying 415 pilgrims landed at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah at 11:30 a.m. local time. Among those welcoming the pilgrims were Mohammad Javed Patwari, the newly appointed Ambassador of Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia, along with other officials including Jeddah Consul General Mohammad Nazmul Haque and Bangladesh Hajj Office Makkah Councilor (Hajj) Zahirul Islam.

In addition to the arrivals in Jeddah, two more government-managed flights transported 830 pilgrims who landed at Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah.

The bulletin further detailed that a total of 1245 pilgrims under government management and 739 pilgrims under private management have reached Saudi Arabia by the end of the reporting day.

On this significant day, five flights were operated, including three by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, one by Saudi Airlines, and one by Flynas Airlines.

Highlighting the overall Hajj preparations, the bulletin disclosed that 50,731 visas have been issued thus far for performing the Hajj, with 90 percent being government-administered pilgrim visas and 58 percent being private-administered pilgrim visas.

This year, the government-managed Hajj quota stands at 4562 pilgrims, while the private Hajj quota is set at 80,695 pilgrims. The Ministry of Religious Affairs has approved a total of 259 Hajj agencies to facilitate the pilgrimage.

The bulletin concluded with information regarding the schedule of Hajj flights, noting that the last flight of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia is scheduled for June 10, with return flights commencing on June 20 and concluding on July 22.

It is pertinent to note that the date for the commencement of the holy Hajj pilgrimage is set for June 16, contingent upon the sighting of the moon.