Everything you need to know about upcoming Sky Documentary, Flight 149: Hostage of War
Flight 149: Hostage of War recounts one of the most extraordinary - and until recently, officially denied - chapters of the Gulf War.
On August 2, 1990, just after Saddam’s forces storm Kuwait, a civilian flight unwittingly touches down in the middle of the warzone. The passengers and crew find themselves trapped, held as hostages by Saddam Hussein, becoming pawns in a rapidly escalating international crisis that will reshape the Middle East.
For over three decades, the British government denied any prior knowledge of the invasion before the plane's ill-fated landing. Now, new information has come to light to challenge the official narrative and the surviving hostages are taking the British government and BA to court to seek justice and the truth.
Featuring powerful firsthand testimonies from the key players, including the surviving hostages, Kuwaiti resistance fighters, investigative journalist Stephen Davis, and political insiders, Flight 149: Hostage of War is an unflinching exploration of a geopolitical scandal, decades in the making.
What is Flight 149: Hostage of War about?
Flight 149: Hostage of War details the full timeline of what happened during the hostage situation, and the passengers’ fight for justice in the 30 years that followed.
Using footage captured during that time, Flight 149: Hostage of War will also talk to those directly involved in the situation and their attempts to get the passengers back safely.
It will also talk with experts to decipher what went down and dissect the cover up that took shape.
What happened to the passengers of Flight 149?
Ahead of landing in Kuwait, British Airways claim their pilot called ahead to check on the situation but had not heard anything back, so it was assumed it was OK to land.
But the flight was detained by Iraqi forces and moved to nearby hotels under armed guard.
During the four months that followed, several passengers have claimed they witnessed and suffered abuse at the hands of their captors, including the rape of a BA flight attendant.
Women and children were offered the chance to be freed by the end of August, but other detainees were used by Iraqi soldiers and even Saddam Hussein himself as human shields during the Gulf War in a bid to protect them from fire.
Former Prime Minister Edward Heath flew to Baghdad to broker a release deal with Saddam, and the remaining captives were finally freed. There was only one known fatality from all of those on board the flight, though many have developed PTSD as a result of their experience.
The British government was highly criticised, with investigations into the incident after claims they had used the flight in order for British military and intelligence officers to infiltrate Kuwait.
Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister during the incident, always denied these claims, but the debate still remained over whether there was time for officials to inform the flight before landing and move them to safety.
“The British Airways flight landed, its passengers disembarked and the crew handed over to a successor crew and went to their hotels,” she told Parliament at the time. “All that took place before the invasion: the invasion was later.”
In 2021, Liz Truss – at the time the foreign secretary – admitted that the government failed to warn British Airways that the flight was heading into an active war zone.
She said in a statement: "This failure was unacceptable. I apologise to the House for this, and I express my deepest sympathy to those who were detained and mistreated."
Three days before the end of the occupation, the plane, which had been left on the runway at the airport, was blown up, though it is not known who did this.
On July 1, 2024, surviving passengers and crew announced their plans to sue both the UK government and British Airways for not acting upon warnings that were given to them.
When and where can I watch Flight 149: Hostage of War?
Flight 149: Hostage of War comes to Sky Documentaries on 11 June 2025.
It will also be available on streaming service NOW.
Check back in here for more details as they’re confirmed.