British Airways flight 149 passengers sue UK government over 1990 Kuwait hostage ordeal
Shafaq News/ Passengers and crew members of a British Airways flight taken hostage during Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 have filed a lawsuit against the UK government and the airline.
The passengers of flight BA149, en route to Kuala Lumpur, were detained after the plane landed in Kuwait on August 2, 1990, just hours after Saddam Hussein’s forces invaded the Gulf state.
The 367 passengers and crew spent more than four months in captivity. Law firm McCue Jury & Partners announced that 94 affected individuals have initiated civil proceedings in the High Court in London. They accuse the British government and British Airways of "deliberately endangering civilians."
The claim alleged that both the UK government and the airline were aware of the imminent invasion but allowed the flight to land to insert a covert operations team into Kuwait. Barry Manners, a passenger on the flight and one of the claimants, stated, "We were not treated as citizens but as expendable pawns for commercial and political gain."
Government documents released in November 2021 revealed that the UK ambassador to Kuwait had informed London about the Iraqi incursion before the plane’s landing. However, this information was not relayed to British Airways. There are also accusations, denied by the government, that the flight was intentionally delayed to allow secret agents to board.
A spokesperson for the UK government reiterated that the responsibility for the events and the mistreatment of the passengers lies solely with the Iraqi government of that era.
British Airways, which has consistently denied allegations of negligence and conspiracy, did not comment on the ongoing legal matters but previously stated that the 2021 records confirmed the airline was not warned about the invasion.
McCue Jury & Partners had announced the intent to file the lawsuit in September, suggesting that the hostages could claim around £170,000 ($213,000) each in compensation. In 2003, a French court ordered British Airways to pay €1.67 million in damages.
