Vegetarian Passenger Tragically Chokes on Qatar Airways Flight After Being Advised to 'Eat Around Meat'

Table of Contents

• Incident Overview
• Lawsuit Details
• Meal Service Issues
• Medical Response
• Airline Policy on Meals
• Legal Implications

A vegetarian airline passenger tragically “choked to death” after being instructed to “eat around the meat” on a Qatar Airways flight.

This incident involved Asoka Jayaweera, 85, who was reportedly denied the meal he had initially ordered, according to his grieving family.

Asoka Jayaweera, 85, boarded the flight from Los Angeles to Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2023. His son has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

The cardiologist from Southern California was traveling with Qatar Airways from Los Angeles to Sri Lanka when he was advised by stewards to “eat around” the meat in his meal, as detailed in a newly filed lawsuit obtained by The Independent.

On June 23, 2023, Mr. Jayaweera booked his flight to Colombo and tragically choked to death days later, on August 3, according to the complaint recently filed by his son, Surya.

Approximately two-and-a-half hours into the long-haul flight, the onboard meal service commenced.

The complaint states: “Mr. Jayaweera was a strict vegetarian and requested a vegetarian meal.”

Surya explains that the flight attendant informed his father that there were no meat-free meals available and that they could only provide a standard meal.

He was then instructed to “eat around the meat.”

The complaint alleges that while attempting to do so, Mr. Jayaweera began to choke on his food.

The specific food he choked on is not identified in the complaint.

Other passengers quickly intervened, and the crew called MedAire, a service that provides aviation-trained ER doctors to guide staff through medical emergencies.

While the stewards desperately tried to save the doctor’s life, the pilot faced challenges in making an emergency landing.

The lawsuit also claims that the plane was unable to land due to flying over the Arctic Circle/Ocean.

However, Mr. Jayaweera’s son asserts that the aircraft was actually over the Midwest at the time.

Surya argues that the plane could have easily diverted for an emergency landing.

The complaint states that although the plane was passing over Wisconsin at the time, the flight crew informed Mr. Jayaweera’s travel companion that the pilot was unable to land because they were above the Arctic Circle.

It further adds: “At approximately 02:46 UTC, Asoka Jayaweera was monitored with an oxygen saturation level of 69 percent.”

Oxygen saturation levels below 88 percent are considered highly dangerous.

Surya Jayaweera is now seeking damages for negligence and wrongful death. The flight crew desperately tried to save the doctor’s life while in the air.

The crew continued to administer oxygen; however, his saturation levels never rose above 85 percent, according to the complaint.

The flight eventually landed in Edinburgh, Scotland, by which point Mr. Jayaweera had been unconscious for approximately three-and-a-half hours, as alleged in the complaint.

He was immediately rushed to a hospital, but it was tragically too late.

The son claims that his father died due to aspiration pneumonia, an infection caused by inhaling food or liquid into the lungs instead of swallowing it.

In addition to standard options such as chicken biryani and couscous with beef, Qatar Airways offers an additional 19 special meals.

Among these, seven are meat-free to accommodate all travelers' dietary needs.

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

This treaty establishes a statutory payout limit of approximately $175,000 for onboard death and injury claims.

Surya Jayaweera is now pursuing damages for negligence and wrongful death.