• Almost 20 pounds of gold jewelry went missing from a British Airways plane in Chicago.
• Two employees from a ground handling firm were prosecuted on suspicion of theft over the incident.
• BA is asking for compensation after a Bahraini court ordered the airline to pay back the jeweler.

British Airways has filed a $1.2 million lawsuit after almost 20 pounds of gold jewelry went missing from one of its planes.

The airline says it was contracted by Al-Arefi Jewelry to transport the valuable cargo from Bahrain to Chicago in July 2023.

However, after the flight from London to Chicago O'Hare International Airport landed, the jewelry was reported missing.

British Airways is suing Ground Services International, which is owned by the Emirati firm dnata and provides ground-handling services at several US airports.

The suit, filed in a Chicago court last October, says two GSI employees have been prosecuted on suspicion of theft.

As a result of the incident, Al-Arefi brought legal action against the airline.

Last February, a Bahraini court ordered BA to pay the jeweler 153,000 dinars, roughly $406,000 at the current exchange rate.

BA says it wrote to GSI to request compensation over this, but the latter has refused, resulting in it taking legal action.

The airline says that GSI is in breach of the Standard Ground Handling Agreement because it did not safeguard valuable cargo and has not compensated it.

BA is asking for over $1.2 million, which consists of repaying the Bahraini court's judgment, attorneys' fees over $100,000, and more than $700,000 in consequential losses.

A settlement conference has been scheduled for February 11, according to a court document seen by Business Insider.

Dnata did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by BI outside US working hours.