British Airways Passengers And Crew Abused

Lawyers are supporting an ongoing call for answers from passengers and crew of a British Airways flight who were taken hostage after landing in Kuwait during the start of the first Gulf War.

BA Flight 149 departed London Heathrow for Kuala Lumpur on the evening of 1 August, 1990, with 367 passengers and 18 crew on board.  A scheduled stop over took place in Kuwait early the following morning.

At the time, Iraqi military forces invaded Kuwait. The passengers and crew of BA Fight 149 were captured and taken hostage, where they suffered physical and mental abuse.

All other flights were diverted from landing in Kuwait.

Last month, the Government revealed that British officials failed to pass on a warning about the invasion by the Iraqi military that could have prevented BA Flight 149 landing in Kuwait and the suffering of those on board.

International serious injury and public law experts at Irwin Mitchell are now supporting an appeal made by the passengers and crew of BA Flight 149 for the Government to release all documentation relating to the incident to help gain justice for those involved.

Expert Opinion

“The passengers and crew of BA Flight 149 were subjected to a barrage of abuse by Iraqi forces after landing in Kuwait in 1990, and to date they are still being denied the justice they deserve.

They continue to have many unanswered questions as to what happened that day and why, and we support their plea for all documents relating to the incident to be made available.

We call on the Government to co-operate fully with this request, and hope that this will be a step in the right direction towards the passengers and crew obtaining the closure they need to attempt to move forward with their lives.”
Cheryl Palmer-Hughes - Partner and Head of our International Serious Injury Desk

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