In a significant legal move, passengers and crew of a British Airways flight held hostage in Kuwait in 1990 have filed a lawsuit against the UK government and the airline.
The legal action, announced by law firm McCue Jury & Partners on Monday, stems from the events of August 2, 1990, when BA flight 149 landed in Kuwait just hours after the Iraqi invasion led by Saddam Hussein. The flight was en route to Kuala Lumpur.
Out of the 367 individuals on board, some were detained for over four months, with several being used as human shields to deter Western military action during the Gulf War.
Ninety-four of these hostages have now filed a civil lawsuit at the High Court in London, alleging that both the UK government and British Airways “deliberately endangered” their lives. The law firm highlighted the severe physical and psychiatric harm suffered by all claimants during their captivity, with lasting impacts.
The lawsuit contends that the UK government and British Airways were aware of the invasion but allowed the flight to land regardless, allegedly to “insert a covert special ops team into occupied Kuwait.”
Barry Manners, a passenger on the flight and one of the claimants, remarked, “We were treated not as citizens but as expendable pawns for commercial and political gain.” He added that a victory in this case would help restore trust in the political and judicial system.
In November 2021, British government documents revealed that the UK ambassador to Kuwait had informed London of the Iraqi incursion before the flight’s arrival, but this information was not communicated to British Airways. There are further allegations that the UK government knowingly risked passengers’ lives by using the flight to deploy covert operatives, delaying its departure to facilitate their boarding.
The UK government has denied these claims and refused to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings. British Airways, which has consistently denied accusations of negligence, conspiracy, and cover-up, did not respond to AFP’s request for comment. The airline maintains that the 2021 records confirm it was not warned about the invasion.
McCue Jury & Partners, which announced its intention to file the lawsuit in September, stated that the hostages “may claim an estimated average of £170,000 ($213,000) each in damages.”
This is not the first legal ruling related to the incident. In 2003, a French court ordered British Airways to pay 1.67 million euros to the flight’s French hostages, ruling that the airline had “seriously failed in its obligations” by allowing the plane to land in Kuwait.
