.]]
was a flight between , near
Kuwait City , several hours after the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait on the night of
August 1 ,
1990 . The aircraft operating the flight, its passengers and crew, were captured by Iraqi forces and the passengers and crew held hostage. Although the passengers were later freed, the aircraft was destroyed, and allegations were raised that the airline deliberately stopped in Kuwait in order to transport British
SAS Troops to the region.
The flight left London Heathrow Airport for Kuala Lumpur via Kuwait and Madras around 6.15 p.m. on
August 1 ,
1990 . The flight's scheduled stop at Kuwait City was not changed, despite media reports of the worsening political situation in the region due to Iraqi demands for Kuwait to surrender territory. At 3.00 a.m. on
August 2 ,
1990 , the flight landed at Kuwait International Airport, four hours after the Iraqi invasion began. After the passengers disembarked the aircraft, the airport was attacked by Iraqi troops and the passengers and crew of Flight 149 were detained.
After being detained, a flight attendant was reported to have been raped by the Iraqi soldiers.
{Link without Title} Citizens of Western nations were taken from Kuwait to
Baghdad where they were held as human shields alongside other Westerners in Kuwait at that time. Eventually most of them were released by the Iraqis before the
Gulf War began.
The aircraft itself was destroyed during the Gulf War, either by Allied bombing, or by the Iraqis themselves.
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
July 15 ,
1999 ,
French passengers won damages from British Airways to the amount of £2.5 million.
