33 years later: story behind British people turned into human shields by Saddam Hussein

Shafaq News / Sky Documentaries has commissioned documentary feature, Flight 149 (w/t) from Drum Studios.

The film will explore the dramatic moment when the passengers of BA Flight 149 were taken hostage.

On 2nd August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Hours later, BA Flight 149 from London lands in Kuwait City for a scheduled stop with over 385 men, women and children on board. With Kuwait City under occupation, Saddam Hussein broadcasts to the world that the passengers of the plane are now his ‘guests’ and are not allowed to leave. They are held as human shields in military and chemical plants across Iraq in a rapidly escalating international crisis.

Over the next five months, a tense hostage story unfolds with the world watching. It coincides with a pivotal moment in geopolitical history that will change the West’s relationship with the Middle East forever. The hostages become pawns caught up with a ruthless dictator, a plane full of spies, a British government cover-up and unexpected involvement from Richard Branson.

During their time in captivity, the hostages endure near starvation, mock executions, rape and a constant fear of never making it home.

Thirty-three years later, a group of those hostages are now taking the British government and BA to court in their search for justice and the truth. Why was the plane allowed to land in the first place? What secret is the British government still determined to hide? Will they ever find closure to their horrific ordeal?

This film will feature testimony from all sides of the story – including the hostages themselves, politicians from both sides of the Atlantic and the men and women from the Kuwaiti resistance who risked their lives to hide the hostages. For the first time, we will hear from people who knew Saddam Hussein. They will offer a unique insight into the psychology of the dictator at this sliding door moment in his relationship with the West.

(Sky Documentaries)