BA fury over Kuwait compensation
British Airways is being forced to pay some GBP1.6 million to seven French passengers who were taken as human shields when their flight landed in Kuwait in 1990.
The incident took place at the start of the first Gulf War, when flight BA149 landed in Kuwait City hours after Saddam’s forces invaded the country. Some of the passengers ended up being held as human shields for five months in Kuwait and Iraq, and since launched a lawsuit against the carrier, claiming that it put them in danger by landing in Iraq.
Furthermore, they claim that the landing in Iraq was specifically to drop off some SAS soldiers who had joined the flight at the last minute. BA has always denied the presence of SAS troops on the flight, and claim that the hostage-taking was an act of war that could not have been predicted.
A BA spokesman said: “We are surprised at the result and will be exploring our options once we have studied the judgement. While we have said throughout that we have every sympathy with those taken hostage, what happened to them was the result of an act of war by Iraq that took the whole world by surprise.”
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