Dhaka:  Return hajj flights from Saudi Arabia will begin on Saturday to take the Bangladeshi hajj pilgrims back home, reports BSS.

The first return hajj flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines is scheduled to leave Jeddah at about 11:00am local time (Bangladesh time 2:00pm) and is expected to arrive in Dhaka at about 8:40pm, according to Biman officials.

Like previous years, Biman authorities this year have also opened ‘City Check-in’ facilities in Makkah and Madinah to make the return journey of the hajjis more convenient.

Biman started hajj flight on 4 August to carry pilgrims from Dhaka to Jeddah after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the hajj activities on 3 August.

According to a Biman official, the national flag carrier ferried 49,545, nearly half of the country’s 101,758 hajj pilgrims this year to Saudi city of Jeddah.

Biman’s general manager for public relations Khan Musharraf Hussein told BSS that Biman successfully ferried the hajj passengers from Dhaka to Jeddah with its dedicated and scheduled flights.

He said the national flag career would operate 108 dedicated and 29 scheduled flights to carry back the hajjis from Saudi Arabia from 17 September to 16 October.

According to the religious ministry, this year 5,183 pilgrims went to Saudi Arabia under government management while the rest 95,614 went on private arrangements.