Passengers and crew from a British Airways flight taken hostage in Kuwait in 1990 have initiated legal proceedings against the UK government and the airline, according to a law firm announcement on Monday.
The individuals on BA flight 149 were removed from their plane, en route to Kuala Lumpur, when it landed in Kuwait on August 2, 1990, shortly after Iraq’s then-leader Saddam Hussein invaded the country.
Among the 367 passengers and crew, some endured over four months in captivity, including being used as human shields against Western attacks on Iraqi forces during the first Gulf War.
Ninety-four of these individuals have filed a civil lawsuit at the High Court in London, accusing the UK government and British Airways of “deliberately endangering” civilians, as stated by McCue Jury & Partners.
“All of the claimants suffered severe physical and psychiatric harm during their ordeal, the consequences of which are still felt today,” the law firm added.
The lawsuit asserts that the UK government and the airline “knew the invasion had started” but still permitted the flight to land. The firm claims this decision was made to “insert a covert special ops team into occupied Kuwait.”
Barry Manners, a passenger on the flight and participant in the lawsuit, stated, “We were not treated as citizens but as expendable pawns for commercial and political gain.”
He added that a victory in this case would help “restore trust in our political and judicial process.”
British government documents released in November 2021 indicated that the UK ambassador to Kuwait had informed London about reports of an Iraqi incursion before the flight landed, but the message was not passed on to British Airways.
There have also been allegations, denied by the government, that London knowingly endangered passengers by using the flight to deploy undercover operatives and delayed take-off to accommodate them.
The UK government has declined to comment on ongoing legal matters.
British Airways has consistently denied allegations of negligence, conspiracy, and a cover-up. The airline did not respond to a request for comment from AFP but stated last year that the records released in 2021 “confirmed British Airways was not warned about the invasion.”
McCue Jury & Partners announced in September its intention to file the lawsuit, noting that the hostages “may claim an estimated average of £170,000 ($213,000) each in damages.”
In 2003, a French court ordered British Airways to pay 1.67 million euros to the flight’s French hostages, citing that the airline had “seriously failed in its obligations” by landing the plane.
