With all preparations underway, Biman Bangladesh Airlines will start carrying hajj pilgrims from next week.

The first hajj flight, BG-3001, will leave Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport with 419 pilgrims on board at 7:15am on July 4, a Biman press release said on Tuesday.

Some 127,198 pilgrims from Bangladesh are set to perform hajj this year.

The national carrier is expected to carry 63,599 passengers, which is about half the number of total hajj pilgrims. The remaining pilgrims will be flown by Saudi Airlines.

From this year, for the first time, the official immigration procedure of some Bangladeshi pilgrims will be completed in Dhaka.

Biman will operate a total of 189 hajj flights_32 scheduled and 157 dedicated_ from July 4 till August 5 with four Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

It will offer 11 flights to Madina from Dhaka for the first time this year. Apart from the capital, 19 hajj flights will be operated from Chittagong, while three flights are expected to fly from Sylhet.

Biman will operate 176 post-hajj flights_29 scheduled and 147 dedicated_from August 17 to September 15.

The airline will charge $200 per ticket in case of change in the travel date, the release said, adding that the cost per ticket will rise to $300 if any pilgrim changes the date less than 24 hours of their scheduled flight.

Besides, Biman will not refund ticket money if any pilgrim fails to travel on their scheduled flight, the press release further said.

Deshsangbad/fh/mmh