First hajj-flight takes off

The first Biman Bangladesh Airlines hajj flight left Dhaka at 6:55am Monday with 285 pilgrims on board, a top official said. Khan Mosharraf Hossain, deputy general manager (public relations) of Biman, told bdnews24.com that the second hajj flight is scheduled to leave for Jeddah at 5:55pm with 305 pilgrims. Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed inaugurated the 2007 hajj flight at Zia International Airport. According to Biman's information centre, Biman is operating the hajj flights deploying two of its own DC-10 aircraft and a Boeing 747 taken on lease.