Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

BA Flight 149: UK admits it did not warn Kuwait hostage flight

BA Flight 149: UK admits it did not warn Kuwait hostage flight

The foreign secretary has admitted that Parliament and the public were misled for decades about a British Airways flight which landed in Kuwait during an Iraqi invasion in 1990.

The passengers and crew of BA 149 were taken hostage, with many mistreated.

Newly released files reveal that the British ambassador in Kuwait warned the Foreign Office about the invasion, but BA was not told.

The government kept the warning secret for three decades.

However, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss reiterated earlier denials that the flight was being used for a secret intelligence mission.

For 30 years, successive governments have covered up the fact there was a warning Kuwait was being invaded before BA 149 landed in the country and that this was not passed on.

"This failure was unacceptable," Ms Truss said in a written statement. "I apologise to the House for this, and I express my deepest sympathy to those who were detained and mistreated."

BA 149 took off from London at 18:04 GMT on 1 August, two hours late, and was due to stop briefly in Kuwait before heading on to Asia.

But files released today to the National Archives show the British Ambassador called the resident clerk at the Foreign Office around midnight with reports that an invasion of Kuwait had begun.

This was passed to the Foreign Office Middle East department and to Downing Street, as well as MI6, the Cabinet Office and Ministry of Defence. But British Airways was not told.

The call was not publicly acknowledged or disclosed until now.

The plane landed in the early hours of the morning. Less than an hour later, the airport was closed and the passengers and crew were trapped. Many were taken hostage.

Some were mistreated, sexually assaulted and kept in near-starvation conditions before they were released that December.

Five-year-old Stuart Lockwood was pictured with Saddam Hussein, who was trying to show the world the hostages were being treated well


There was no formal mechanism for passing on such information to British Airways at the time, but the Foreign Office says there is a procedure to deal with situations and inform the airline industry now.

A British Airways spokesperson said the records "confirm British Airways was not warned about the invasion".

The files suggest the British ambassador was unclear whether the Iraqi incursion was limited or large-scale. The invasion also swept through Kuwait far faster than many expected when it first began.

The episode has aroused particular controversy because of persistent reports that a team of undercover operatives were on board the plane as part of a mission to be inserted into Kuwait to carry out surveillance.

"I am convinced that the military intelligence exploitation of British Airways Flight 149 did take place, despite repeated official denials," Anthony Paice, who was serving at the British Embassy at the time and has been previously named as an MI6 officer, said earlier this year.

Barry Manners, who was on the flight, says it is "irrefutable" that the government used the civilian plane for an intelligence mission


Clive Earthy, the BA cabin services director on the flight, also told the BBC that he remembers a man in military uniform escorting a group of 10 men off the flight - who were then never seen again.

However, the Foreign Office says the newly released files are "consistent" with a statement made in 2007 that the government "did not attempt in any way to exploit the flight by any means whatever".

Barry Manners, a passenger on the flight, said he was disappointed the government had not used the opportunity to acknowledge the "irrefutable" evidence that the flight was used for an intelligence mission.

"This was a deliberate act by the British government to use a civilian airliner as a military transport into what turned out to be a live-fire war zone," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×