Bangladesh Biman yesterday claimed to have enough preparation to smoothly ferry pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, though hajj agencies have expressed concern that 22,000 devotees might miss their flights.

Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (Haab), at a press conference yesterday, said it was worried that 22,000 out of a total of 112,568 devotees might not be able to perform hajj as the government had allowed only Biman and two Saudi Arabian airlines to ferry the pilgrims.

"The hajj agencies may not be able to provide the devotees with flight schedules owing to complexities in getting tickets from the airlines. So, 22,000 devotees may not perform hajj [this year)," former Haab general secretary Eyaqub Sharafati told reporters.

He urged the government to permit other airlines operating on the Dhaka-Jeddah route to carry the pilgrims.

Eyaqub said six hajj agencies had so far received 2,400 visas from the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka. But they were yet to get any tickets from Biman Bangladesh Airlines. He apprehends that hajj agencies will be in the clutches of a "ticket syndicate" and devotees will be the ultimate sufferers.

Biman, however, started selling hajj tickets from yesterday.

Addressing a separate press briefing at Balaka, Biman headquarters, Civil Aviation Secretary Ataharul Islam and Biman acting managing director AM Mosaddique Ahmed brushed aside the concerns.

They claimed Biman was prepared to carry 58,500 devotees, which was around 2,000 more than the number of devotees Biman was scheduled to ferry. Biman is set to carry 56,284 pilgrims this year.

Speaking anonymously, a number of Biman officials said Haab had been raising a hue and cry because hajj agencies would be benefited if their demand was met. The agencies would have to spend $800, whereas they have charged each pilgrim $1,475 for return tickets, they added.

Pre-hajj flights will start from September 17 and continue till October 20, while the post-hajj flights are scheduled to be operated