An 85-year-old vegetarian passenger choked and died mid-flight aboard a Qatar Airways aircraft, after being served a non-vegetarian meal. Despite pre-ordering a vegetarian meal, Dr Asoka Jayaweera, a retired cardiologist from Southern California, was told to “eat around” the meat in the regular non-vegetarian meal provided.
He had specifically ordered a vegetarian meal for his journey from the US to Sri Lanka. Jayaweera’s flight was booked for June 23, 2023, and he boarded at Los Angeles International Airport a week later. Despite his request for a vegetarian meal on the 15-and-a-half-hour flight, he was informed by a flight attendant that only non-vegetarian meals were available. The attendant advised him to “eat around” the meat.
When Jayaweera began choking, Qatar Airways crew members attempted to assist him. They contacted MedAire, which provides remote guidance from aviation-trained ER doctors during in-flight emergencies. Despite being monitored with an oxygen saturation level of 69 per cent and receiving oxygen and medication, their efforts were unsuccessful.
The pilot faced challenges in making an emergency landing due to the plane’s location over the Arctic Circle/Ocean. However, Jayaweera’s son Surya claims that the aircraft was actually over the Midwest and could have diverted more easily.
Surya Jayaweera has filed a lawsuit against Qatar Airways for negligence and wrongful death. He seeks damages exceeding the Montreal Convention’s limits on airline liability for passenger deaths. Additionally, he requests interest on compensation before the court judgment and coverage of legal fees.
The flight eventually landed in Edinburgh, Scotland, where Jayaweera had been unconscious for about three-and-a-half hours. He was taken to a hospital but succumbed to aspiration pneumonia on August 3, 2023. This condition arises from inhaling food or liquid into the lungs. The complaint filed by Surya does not specify which food item caused his father’s choking incident.
