85-year-old vegetarian told to 'eat around the meat' on Qatar Airways flight chokes to death

A cardiologist from California who was served a non-vegetarian meal on board a Qatar Airways flight from Los Angeles to Colombo died while trying to "eat around the meat". Asoka Jayaweera choked on something, according to a lawsuit filed by his son, The Independent reported. He had requested a vegetarian meal, but was reportedly told by the flight attendant that none of them were left and he could eat around the meat. The lawsuit further alleges that the captain did not turn the flight around following the medical emergency, stating that they were over the Arctic Ocean. However, Jayaweera’s son Surya says that the flight was actually over Wisconsin. Three hours later, when the plane landed in Edinburgh, Scotland, Jayaweera had been unconscious for over three hours, according to the wrongful death lawsuit. He was taken to the hospital, but he had already passed away. The reason for his death was cited as "aspiration pneumonia,” an infection caused by inhaling food or liquid into the lungs, rather than swallowing it.

The 85-year-old doctor from Southern California had booked a flight from LA to Colombo, Sri Lanka, on June 23, 2023, with Qatar Airways, according to his son’s complaint filed on July 31 in California state court. The case was later moved to the Central California federal court on October 3. He boarded the flight a week later. The meal service started two and a half hours later. “Mr Jayaweera was a strict vegetarian and requested a vegetarian meal,” the complaint states. When he asked the flight attendant, he was told "there were no vegetarian meals left and that they could only provide him a regular meal with meat and instructed him to ‘eat around’ the meat.”

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“While attempting to ‘eat around’ the meat in the meal that he was provided, Asoka Jayaweera began choking shortly thereafter,” the complaint states. The crew got on the phone with MedAire, an Arizona-based service which has ER doctors who remotely guide airline staff through in-flight medical emergencies, according to the complaint. “At approximately 02:46 UTC, Asoka Jayaweera was monitored with an oxygen saturation level of 69 per cent,” the complaint says.

Complainant seeking damages in excess of Montreal Convention

Jayaweera’s travel companion was told that the flight was above the Arctic Circle and about to cross the Arctic Ocean, and they could not turn around. His son, meanwhile, claims in the complaint that it was over the Midwest and could have easily made an emergency landing. Jayaweera lost consciousness at about 07:30 UTC "and was administered drugs and oxygen." But his saturation level never returned to above 85. By the time they landed in Edinburgh and took him to the hospital, it was too late, as he died on August 3, 2023. Qatar and the United States are members of the Montreal Convention, which sets a statutory payout limit of roughly $175,000 for onboard death and injury claims. Surya Jayaweera is seeking damages for negligence and wrongful death, in excess of Montreal Convention guidelines.