Ex-Hostages Sue Airline That Landed in Kuwait

Passengers taken hostage when their British Airways flight landed in Kuwait the day of the Iraqi invasion have filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in San Diego against the airline.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court contends that British Airways knew or should have known that Kuwait had been invaded and landing a jet there would endanger passengers.

The Saloom family of San Diego asked the court to designate the lawsuit a class action on behalf of all 367 passengers of Flight 149. The lawsuit seeks a minimum of about $18.4 million, or $50,000 per passenger.

The flight, which originated in San Diego and was headed to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with refueling stops in London and Kuwait, arrived in the occupied emirate on Aug. 2, 1990.

The airport already was occupied by Iraqi soldiers, and the Boeing 747 was not allowed to take off. Soldiers took the passengers to hotels in Kuwait. Later some were taken to Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, where they were used as so-called “human shields” to protect likely bombing targets, before being released months later.

They joined thousands of foreigners held hostage by Iraqis during the invasion, most of whom were released before the Gulf War began.

All of Flight 149’s passengers eventually were released unharmed, some at the behest of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who went to Iraq in early September, 1990, to bargain for the release of American hostages.

A spokesman for British Airways’ U.S. operations, John Lampl, declined comment on the lawsuit, saying airline officials had not yet seen it.