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Hajj pilgrims kept waiting

Saudi Arabian NAS Air flights delayed for technical glitches

Md Fazlur Rahman
After the recent chaos by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, hajj pilgrims of National Air Services (NAS) were stranded yesterday due to inadequate number of aircraft of the low cost Saudi airline.
The disruption delayed the departure of 1,100 pilgrims who finally flew by NAS Air of Saudi Arabia last night. Those passengers were supposed to depart on Tuesday but could not fly due to technical glitches of the aircraft.
The pilgrims arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International
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Airport as per schedule of their departure but were informed that they would not be able to fly on their scheduled flights.
Nazrul Islam, who came to see off his father Siraj ul Islam, said though their flight was due to take off at 7:30pm, they arrived at the airport by noon to avoid traffic jam.
"At 2:45pm they were taken inside the airport and were told, an hour later, that they would not be able to fly before tomorrow evening," he toldThe Daily Star.
"I am not sure whether my father and the others will be able to fly tomorrow," said the 23-year old Nazrul, an honours student.
He said a team of eight pilgrims, including his father booked rooms at a hotel near the airport at their own cost.
"I do not think that the airline company will pay for the accommodation and food," he said.
Mojibur Rahman, a 55-year-old school teacher, who was due to fly last night, said
their team of 40 pilgrims could not catch their flight last night.
"The airport officials told us we might fly onThursday or Friday evening but we are not yet sure. The delays by NAS Air in the last two days caused all the trouble," he said.
At 7:30pm, the group, which comprised elderly and women, wondered where to go, as there was none at the airport to take care of them.
Finally an hour later, the airline brought them to a hotel, Mojibur told The Daily Star over the telephone. "I definitely appreciate their action," he added.
Nurul Amin, a director of Tower Aviation Ltd, the Bangladeshi agent for NAS Air, said that three flights, which could not depart on time since Monday night have hampered their flight plans.
"Though the flight for pilgrims has been delayed by a day, we are now operating in full swing," he told The Daily Star.
"We are also carrying additional passengers to
minimise the backlog", he said hoping that their flight schedule would return to normal by September 28.
Amin said a complex network of travel agencies, hajj agents and grassroots agents work for transporting hajj pilgrims.
"We usually inform our travel agencies and hajj agents in case of any delays. However, pilgrims living in the rural areas may not always get the information in time", Amin said.
Amin said his airline would provide food and accommodation for passengers, in case of flight delays.
The airline will operate 93 flights this year to carry hajj pilgrims from Bangladesh, he added.
However, a senior official of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (Haab) said NAS Air also created similar
troubles for hajj pilgrims last year.
"Last year, many pilgrims had to stay several days in Saudi Arabia as the airline cancelled a number of its flights,” said the official on condition of anonymity.
"It is not feasible for hajj goers to stay abroad for two months as it takes only 12 to 15 days to perform the hajj," he added.
NAS Air is one of three airlines officially appointed by the civil aviation ministry to carry hajj pilgrims. The airline will carry about 16,000 people for hajj.
The Saudi national carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines will ferry around 40,000 pilgrims while the state-run Biman will carry 56,500 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.
Bangladesh plans to ferry around 1,12,568 hajj pilgrims this year. Last year, 16
airline companies carried pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.
“The hajj pilgrims are paying three times the normal airfare but it is a shame that we are not being able to honour their departure schedules,” another Haab official said.
Meanwhile, the flight disorder by Biman has continued to disrupt travel plans of passengers, mostly migrant workers.
Workers usually buy tickets to return to their country of employment as their holidays draw to a close, said a Dubai-bound migrant worker.
“If we show up late for work because our flight was delayed we face a lot of trouble", said the 35-year-old, who works for an oil and gas company in Dubai.
His own flight was delayed once by three days when his employer had
confirmed his return ticket before he came to Noakhali on a month-long vacation.
"When I called my employer to inform him about my situation, he rebuked me harshly," he said.
Abdul Hai and Md Ful Mia, who are cousins came to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to board their flight at 3:00pm. When they contacted the Biman office they were told that their flight had been rescheduled to Thursday evening.
"Now we will have to stay at a hotel at our own cost. We have already paid for the transport cost from Habiganj to Dhaka," said Hai.
The two have been working at a tiles manufacturing company for over seven years.
Around 5,000 passengers had to change their travel plans since the flight chaos began on September 10.