About this episode

The episode explores the controversial events surrounding Flight 149, where civilians were used as human shields during Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.

Why were 400 civilians allowed to fly into a war zone as Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait? What really happened to them when they were held as hostages? And why has the British government fought for so long to keep it all a secret? Stephen Davis is an investigative journalist who has been following a story, within a story, within a story for more than 30 years. It starts on 2 August, 1990 when a British Airways plane landed in Kuwait for a scheduled stopover. There were nearly 400 passengers and crew on board, mostly British, who had no idea they were flying straight into Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. Instead of refuelling and then carrying on to Madras, the people on board were taken into Iraqi custody, ferried to various hotels and strategic locations around Kuwait, and then Baghdad, deployed as human shields in an unfurling international conflict. Used like chess pieces by Saddam Hussein's men, their experiences would scar them for the rest of their lives, but eventually they would point the finger at their own government's role in their fate. Because Flight 149 should never have landed in Kuwait, and the reasons why it was allowed to fly into a war zone were covered up…

People in this episode

Guest: Stephen Davis

Topics covered

• war
• hostage
• government secrecy
• investigative journalism
• human shields
• Flight 149

Keywords

• Flight 149
• Saddam Hussein
• Kuwait
• hostages
• British government
• black ops
• investigative journalism
• human shields

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: British Airways, Bonnier Books UK

Places: Kuwait, Iraq, Madras

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