British Airways Flight 149

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 . 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,Last Flight to Kuwait, BBC Two, 19 March 2007. 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.

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...
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