Staff Reporter :
Top management of Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BBA) has expressed its fear if the present flow of flight cancellation continues, then situation may go out of control.
A total of 20 hajj flights have been cancelled since the first day of hajj flight operation on July 24 and three more flights are likely to be cancelled tomorrow (Friday), sources confirmed.
“Situation is gradually going beyond the control. If the trend of flight cancellation continues, then it will be tough to tell how many pilgrims will be able to perform their hajj at last,” Managing Director (MD) AM Mosaddique Ahmed told the reporters in a press briefing on Wednesday.
“It’s a very challenging situation and it needs to be improved,” he said.
The BBA MD also expressed his doubt over the optimum use of newly allotted 14 additional landing slots in Saudi Arabia for want of adequate aircrafts.
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday provided 14 additional landing slots alongside the existing ones to carry stuck hajj pilgrims who couldn’t fly due to the visa complications.
“It may not be possible to use more than 7-8 slots due to shortage of aircraft,” Mosaddique said.
Ahmed, who is also Biman’s CEO, finds it quite tough to manage flights for the remaining 52,000 pilgrims in a span of one week.
Blaming the negligence of hajj agency-owner’s for the situation, the BBA head said, “Biman will take actions against those agencies which failed to send pilgrims to Saudi Arabia in the scheduled flights.”
However, according to BBA MD, the national flag carrier has so far been deprived of around Tk40 crore due to the cancellation of the flights.
Meanwhile, leaders of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) claimed, imposition of new fees against each pilgrim actively played role behind the situation.
“Saudi government in the last moment imposed 2000 Saudi Real against each pilgrim who performed hajj at least once within the last couple of years which is largely responsible for the situation,” Secretary General of HAAB, Sahadat Hossain Taslim said.
As many as 127,198 Bangladeshis are likely to perform the annual Muslim pilgrimage this year, which is expected to be held between Aug 30 and Sep 4, depending on moon sighting.
Since July 24, around 40,000 pilgrims from Bangladesh have been able to make the journey.
Of them, 24,000 have been carried by Biman. A total of 177 flights were scheduled to carry the hajj pilgrims till August 26.
