The cost of the Hajj package in Bangladesh has skyrocketed in recent years, and rising airfares are a major driver of the increase. Nonetheless, the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) asserts that this increased airfare can be reduced.
HAAB President Shahadat Hossain Taslim said: “It is possible to reduce the airfare for Hajj, I think the airfare can be decreased if a person with extensive knowledge of the aviation industry sits down with me and we can add and subtract.”
Shahadat Hossain Taslim said this at a doa mahfil organized by the association at the officer's club.
The HAAB president further added: “Bangladesh has no opportunity to reduce the cost of Hajj on the part of Saudi Arabia. The cost of the rest of Bangladesh is the airfare. We think the airfare could have been compromised. We are continuing our efforts. We have applied to the honorable prime minister.”
The price of Hajj packages has increased due to the increase in the value of the dollar and the Saudi Riyal. All over the world, this has led to an increase in costs, he said.
Flights carrying Bangladeshi pilgrims to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj will begin on May 21.
The government's Hajj package was fixed at Tk683,018 for the current season, up by around Tk1.61 lakh from the previous year.
The minimum cost under private management is Tk6.72 lakh, about Tk1.5 lakh more than that of last year.
The ministry has not taken any visible steps to revise the cost and set March 21 as the deadline for registration. However, it asked the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry to reduce the airfares from Tk197,797 to Tk150,000.
The regular ticket price is between Tk80,000 and Tk100,000 on the Jeddah and Medina routes.