DHAKA: The first group of pilgrims from Bangladesh will depart for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to perform this year’s Hajj, with tens of thousands expected to take part in the annual pilgrimage.
In 2025, the Hajj is expected to take place from June 4 and end June 9.
Though the pilgrimage itself can be performed over five or six days, many pilgrims arrive early to make the most of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fulfill their religious duty.
Bangladesh’s first Hajj flight carrying 405 pilgrims is scheduled to leave for Jeddah from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Tuesday morning.
“Compared with previous years, it can be said that this year, we are even better prepared to offer the pilgrims a better Hajj experience,” Matiul Islam, additional secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told Arab News on Sunday.
“The first Hajj flight of Saudia Airlines will leave Dhaka in the early hours of Tuesday … Like the previous years, our pilgrims will enjoy the Makkah Route facilities this year also.”
Launched in Muslim-majority countries in 2019, the Makkah Route initiative allows Hajj pilgrims to fulfill all visa, customs and health requirements in one place, at the airport of origin, and save long hours of waiting before and upon reaching the Kingdom.
The Bangladeshi government has also created new programs to assist the pilgrims this year, including an app that allows them to seek emergency medical assistance and provide important travel information, such as accommodation details, weather updates, and flight updates.
Bangladesh, one of the most populous Muslim-majority countries, was granted a quota of 127,000 pilgrims in 2025. However, only about 87,000 will be going due to high inflation and rising cost of airfares to the Middle East.
As they prepare to leave and perform the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam, Bangladeshis who are able to go are brimming with anticipation.
“This is my first Hajj trip to Makkah. So, you can understand my heart’s excitement. Hajj is something that gives people a celestial feeling,” Mohammad Sharif, a 49-year-old businessman in Dhaka, told Arab News.
“I am traveling well ahead to the Holy Land as the more time I ... spend in Makkah and Madinah, the more I (will) be able to offer prayers for the satisfaction of the almighty Allah.”
Others, like 62-year-old Rukhsana Akter, have waited decades to perform the Hajj.
“At the age of 23 during the birth of my first child, I promised myself to offer Hajj at least once in my life,” she said.
Though she had registered for the pilgrimage with her husband several years ago, his death three months after the registration had stopped her from following through with the trip.
“I was very upset with the sudden death of my husband, and my Hajj travel was not possible during that time. After waiting a couple of years, this year, I am going to travel to the Holy Land along with my eldest son,” she said.
“Everything is set now for the flight. My heart filled with so much joy that Allah finally granted my wishes to perform the Hajj … I can’t express the feeling in words. Whenever I think I would be blessed with the opportunity of seeing the holy Kaaba and stand in front of it, my eyes automatically filled with tears.”
