Dhaka, June 19 -- So far, 60,588 Bangladeshi nationals have returned home after performing Hajj. Fifty-four Bangladeshis have died while performing pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

According to the latest bulletin for the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the total number of return flights as of 2am on Thursday was 152. Of the passengers, 4,319 Hajj pilgrims travelled on government packages, while 56,269 made the journey through private arrangements.

Among the airlines, 26,868 pilgrims returned home from Saudi on 76 Biman Bangladesh Airlines flights, 21,045 pilgrims returned home on 54 Saudia Airlines flights, 8,672 pilgrims returned home on 22 Flynas flights, and 4,003 pilgrims returned home on flights from other airlines.

This year, Hajj was...