British Airways Flight 149

British Airways Flight 149

Occurrence summary
Date	2 August 1990
Type	Passengers and crew taken hostage hours after the Gulf War started
Site	Kuwait City, Kuwait
Passengers	367
Crew	18
Fatalities	1
Survivors	384
Aircraft type	Boeing 747-136
Operator	British Airways
Tail number	G-AWND
Flight origin	London Heathrow Airport
Destination	Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport

British Airways Flight 149 was a flight from London Heathrow Airport to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, (the former international airport for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), via Kuwait City and Madras (now called Chennai) operated by British Airways Boeing 747-136 G-AWND. The flight never travelled on after stopping at Kuwait International Airport, near Kuwait City, several hours after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait during the early hours of 2 August 1990. The aircraft operating the flight, its passengers and crew were captured by Iraqi forces and many of the passengers and crew were initially detained and later became part of the 'Human Shield'. One passenger, a member of the Kuwaiti Royal Family, was killed by the Iraqis, most of the remaining passengers were later freed, though at least one died during captivity, and the aircraft was destroyed, still on the airport, near its original landing gate. Allegations that the airline deliberately did not divert, so as to insert British covert operatives, form the basis of at least one court case.^{[citation needed]}

Background

The flight left London Heathrow Airport for Kuala Lumpur via Kuwait and Madras around 19:00, 1 August 1990; it had been delayed several hours by, according to BA, a faulty air-conditioning unit although crew later confirmed that the delay was related to assessments of the tensions in the Middle East. The flight's scheduled stop at Kuwait City was not cancelled or changed, despite media reports of the worsening political situation in the region due to Iraqi demands for Kuwait to surrender territory. At around 4:00, 2 August 1990, the flight landed at Kuwait International Airport hours after Iraqi forces had crossed the border and apparently with the airport already in Iraqi hands. When passengers to Kuwait or those wishing to shop there before continuing their journey had already disembarked the aircraft, the airport came under fire from Iraqi fighter-bomber aircraft and the aircraft was hurriedly evacuated. Ultimately, both crew and passengers, as well as the changeover crew who had departed the aircraft, were detained.

Detention

After being detained, a flight attendant was reported to have been raped by the Iraqi soldiers. [1]

After the aerial attacks by Iraqi aircraft, including orchestrated bomb runs near the airport terminal, most passengers were transferred to the airport transit hotel, within the boundaries of the airport. Later, passengers were confined to various hotels in Kuwait, also designated by the Iraqis for other foreigners to report to, including the SAS and Kuwait Regency Palace hotels.

"Honoured Guests", as the Iraqis claimed the passengers were, as well as other detainees, were moved in the following week, with two or three police and armed soldiers as escorts, to locations in Kuwait and Iraq, including the former quarters of the British Liaison Team to Kuwait. Those moved included women and children on the flight. The British transferees were accommodated primarily on the upper floors of the Melia Mansour Hotel (hostages from other nationalities were housed in different hotels) for ten days, at which time they were dispersed to various military-industrial sites. Women and children were given the opportunity to return home in late August, whereas those they left behind remained "Human Shields", and transferred between sites. The sites, of between 8 and 20 detainees, were of mixed nationalities (UK and USA dominated, also FR, DE, JP and others). Different national groups (and invalids, and the bodies of individuals who died in captivity) were released at various stages. The remaining US and UK hostages were released in mid December.

Investigation

Several court actions were raised by some of the passengers of the flight against British Airways for negligence in landing at Kuwait after the Iraqi invasion, and for loss of property. Conspiracy theories allege that the United Kingdom government transported intelligence agents or SAS troops to Kuwait aboard the flight, and otherwise it would not have landed in a potential war zone. However the UK government has denied this allegation.

On 15 July 1999, French passengers won damages from British Airways to the amount of £2.5 million.(see 27 April 2007, House of Commons debate: Norman Baker MP)

In a 2007 independent documentary, commissioned and shown by the BBC and shown elsewhere by Discovery Channel, the presence of at least two former SAS soldiers, working as intelligence operatives, aboard Flight 149 was alleged. It also points out that both the US and UK governments were aware almost as soon as Iraqi forces crossed the border and by 0300 Kuwaiti time were fully informed that an invasion had taken place and fighting had ensued; this is at least an hour before BA149 touched down and several other flights were diverted to Bahrain or skipped the Middle East entirely, preferring to use other locations for refuelling until the situation was clear. The documentary also has interviews with one of the covert operatives who confirms the presence of him and his group on the plane and explains the purpose of their mission as well as what happened to them.

See also

• Accidents and incidents in aviation

External links

• BBC News- "BA loses Iraq hostage appeal "
• BBC News - "UK hostages describe Kuwait ordeal (16/10/2006)"
• Pre-destruction photos of destroyed aircraft on Airliners.net
• "Can we trust our rulers ever to tell the truth?" Stephen Davis, New Statesman, 28 July 2003