Saturday, December 18, 2021

The Bangladesh Pilgrim and Haji Welfare Council has asked the government to shut down the travel agencies for charging exorbitant prices for Biman Bangladesh Airlines tickets on the Dhaka-Jeddah route.

They voiced the demand at a press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity on Saturday.

According to council President Abdullah Al Naser and General Secretary Abdul Baten, the travel agencies created an artificial ticket crisis by illegally booking hundreds of tickets on the Dhaka-Jeddah route with the help of some corrupt officials at the sales branch of Biman’s Motijheel office.

According to the organization, the actual fare is Tk67,000 but the illegal syndicate is charging Tk78,000-80,000 - making Umrah pilgrims pay Tk11,000 extra for each ticket.

In August, Saudi Arabia began receiving Umrah requests from other countries for vaccinated pilgrims after about a year and a half of a ban on overseas worshippers because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Biman had resumed flights to Saudi Arabia from May 29.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2021/12/18/ticket-price-umrah-pilgrims-want-travel-agencies-punished-for-charging-extra