HAAB demands reduction of Hajj airfare

Staff Reporter :
To keep a bearable level of smooth and orderly Hajj management for the next year, Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) has sent a letter to the State Minister for Civil Aviation & Tourism to reduce the unreasonable increase in air fare like the year 2023.

The apex body of this trade has placed a comparative picture of the air fare from 2017 to 2023 and claimed that the fares fixed in 2023 are completely unreasonable.

HAAB Secretary General Farooq Ahmad Sardar sent the letter to the State Minister for Civil Aviation on Thursday.

At the same time, a copy of the letter was also sent to the State Minister for Religious Affairs, Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism and the Secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs for information and necessary purposes.

Regarding the issue, HAAB President M. Shahadat Hossain Taslim, said that “We hope that for the smooth, orderly and beautiful Hajj management of next year, the concerned authorities of the government, including the State Minister, will take this subject into consideration and initiate appropriate measures to reduce the increased air fare.

“We will not just sit with letters, but we will meet and discuss with the government concerned on a personal level.

Let them understand the rationale of reduction, what will be the benefits,” Taslim said.

He also said that in 2023, the air fare was fixed at Tk1,97,797. But it was too much and unreasonable in terms of reality.

That is why after the announcement of the Hajj package, it was not accepted by all and criticized.

Since Biman is a commercial entity, it is not appropriate to fix air fares under their sole authority.

Rather, this additional air fare and high price of Hajj packages caused adverse reactions and dissatisfaction among pilgrims and devout Muslims.

“We are doing our best to reduce this unreasonable air fare in 2023. But it was not possible due to the last period of Hajj.

We have already started working on this so that pilgrims can perform Hajj next year with ease.

I hope the government will take quick action on this matter,” added Mr Taslim.