Summary
- Passengers and crew members of British Airways flight BA149 have sued the airline and the UK Government.
- Allegedly, the airline and the government had known about the invasion of Kuwait even before the aircraft landed at Kuwait International Airport (KWI).
- Passengers and crew were seeking damages for mental and physical injuries, with the evidence, uncovered once the related documents were unclassified, helping them to bring the lawsuit against the two parties.
British Airways and the government of the United Kingdom (UK) have been sued by passengers and crew members of a British Airways flight that landed in Kuwait during the Gulf War. The law firm alleged that the airline and government knew that Iraqi armed forces had already overrun the country, which endangered the people onboard flight BA149, which landed at Kuwait International Airport (KWI).
Transporting a special operations team
On August 1, 1990, a British Airways Boeing 747-100, registered as G-AWND, was operating flight BA149, a regularly scheduled itinerary between London Heathrow Airport (LHR) with two stops in KWI and Chennai International Airport (MAA), which was then known as Madras International Airport.
Photo: Abdul N Quraishi – Abs | Shutterstock
Nevertheless, when the 747-100 landed at KWI on August 2, the Gulf War had already started. McCue Jury & Partners, the law firm that will represent the passengers and crew members who have sued the airline and the UK Government, alleged that both parties knew that by that point, the Iraqi Armed Forces had already invaded the country, endangering the people onboard the flight.
“Why would the Government and British Airways do this? Evidence demonstrates that BA149 was used to secretly transport a special ops team for immediate and covert deployment to the battlefield, regardless of the risk this posed to the civilians onboard.”
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Used as human shields
The law firm also alleged that after the crew and passengers of the flight were taken hostage, they were being used as human shields against the military response of the Western countries, led by the United States. Furthermore, as they were held for five months by the Iraqi forces, they endured “torture, rape, mock executions, and starvation.”
Photo: Ondrej Zabransky | Shutterstock
According to McCue Jury & Partners, the claimants, which includes the passengers, crew onboard the aircraft, and the pilots and cabin crew members who were already in Kuwait awaiting deployment on flight BA149, obtained evidence that demonstrated that the airline and the government were aware of the on-ground situation whilst the aircraft was still in the air.
“[The evidence – ed. note] also demonstrates that BA149 was secretly carrying a special ops team, made up of former special forces and security services, known as The Increment, for covert military deployment into Kuwait.”
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Declassified documents
The law firm pointed out that the evidence was obtained once the UK National Archives unclassified the documents related to the invasion under the 30-year rule. Furthermore, the company noted that the Government’s official position was that it was unaware that an invasion had taken place while flight BA149 was on its way to KWI.
“The Claimants are seeking damages for their injuries (both physical and psychiatric), special damages for their consequential losses, and aggravated and punitive damages due to the Government and British Airways alleged wrongdoing.”
Barry Manners, a passenger onboard flight BA149, said that people onboard the British Airways aircraft were not treated as citizens but as expendable pawns for commercial and political gain. A victory over the Government’s official position, which has been a cover-up and bare-faced denial, according to Manners, would help restore trust in Britain’s political and judiciary systems.
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