Qatar Airways sued over passenger’s death onboard after crew tell him to ‘eat around’ meat

Dr Asoka Jayaweera, a retired cardiologist from Southern California, was provided the meal despite pre-booking veg meal, reported Independent.

The incident happened on a Los Angeles to Colombo flight on June 30, 2023.

The 85-year-old has specifically ordered a vegetarian meal for the 15.5-hour journey, said the report. Instead, a flight attendant told him to ‘eat around the non-veg meal’ as no veg meal was available.

When the passenger tried to do so, he began to choke and fell unconscious.

The flight crew tried to provide assistance with the help of remote medical advisors from MedAire, but Jayaweera's condition deteriorated.

The aircraft made an emergency landing at Edinburgh, Scotland, where he was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead on August 3, 2023.

Doctors said he died of ‘aspiration pneumonia’, a lung infection caused by accidentally inhaling food or liquid.

Dr Jayaweera’s son has filed a lawsuit against Qatar Airways, alleging negligence in meal service, despite booking a vegetarian meal in advance, and adequate medical response.

He is also seeking $128,821 in compensation for negligence and wrongful death, the statutory minimum amount.

The lawsuit notes that both Qatar and the United States are signatories to the Montreal Convention, an international treaty that governs airline liability.

Under this convention, there is a statutory compensation cap of about $175,000 for death or injury claims arising from incidents onboard.

“Qatar and the United States are members of the Montreal Convention and as such QATAR is subject to the Convention's rules and has acquiesced to strict liability for personal injury or wrongful deaths occurring as a result of an accident on an international flight,” the complaint states.

The case has drawn attention to airline practices concerning dietary needs and passenger safety, particularly for elderly travellers.

History of negligence by airlines

Instances of passengers with food allergies facing mid-air medical emergencies are not uncommon.

Last year, British reality TV personality Jack Fowler, who has a severe nut allergy, nearly died aboard a Qatar Airways flight to Dubai after being served chicken curry containing nuts.

A year earlier, he had a similar experience on another Qatar Airways flight when given ice cream that contained nuts.

Other airlines have faced comparable incidents. Over the summer, a Singapore Airlines flight from Frankfurt to New York had to divert to Paris after a 41-year-old woman with a shellfish allergy fell seriously ill upon being served shrimp.