British Airways hostages sue British government and airline over 1990 Kuwait incident – ​​News Karnataka

Passengers and crew members of a British Airways flight taken hostage in Kuwait in 1990 have taken legal action against the British government and the airline, a law firm said in a statement on Monday.

The people on board BA Flight 149 were taken from their plane as it landed in Kuwait en route to Kuala Lumpur on August 2, 1990, shortly after then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded the country.

Some of the 367 passengers and crew spent more than four months in captivity and were used as human shields against Western attacks on Iraqi forces during the first Gulf War.

94 of these people have filed a civil suit in the High Court in London, accusing the British government and British Airways of “deliberately endangering” civilians, according to McCue Jury & Partners.

“All plaintiffs suffered severe physical and psychological damage during the ordeal, the effects of which are still felt today,” the law firm added.

The lawsuit alleges that the British government and the airline “knew the invasion had begun” but still allowed the flight to land. The company claims this decision was made to “send a covert special operations team into occupied Kuwait.”

Barry Manners, a passenger on the flight and a party to the lawsuit, said: “We were not treated like citizens, but like expendable pawns for commercial and political purposes.”

He added that a victory in the case would help “restore confidence in our political and legal processes.”

British government documents released in November 2021 indicated that the British ambassador to Kuwait had informed London of reports of an Iraqi incursion before the flight landed, but the message was not passed on to British Airways.

There were also allegations, rejected by the government, that London knowingly put passengers at risk by using the flight to deploy undercover agents and delaying departure to accommodate them.

The British government has declined to comment on ongoing legal matters.

British Airways has consistently denied allegations of negligence, conspiracy and cover-up. The airline did not respond to an AFP request for comment, but said last year that records released in 2021 “confirmed that British Airways was not warned of the invasion”.

McCue Jury & Partners announced its intention to file suit in September, pointing out that the hostages “can claim an average of £170,000 ($213,000) in damages.”

In 2003, a French court ordered British Airways to pay the French hostages on the flight 1.67 million euros, arguing that the airline had “seriously failed to fulfil its obligations” by landing the plane.