Vegetarian dies on flight after 'eating around' meat they were wrongly served
A strict vegetarian has tragically died after eating a meal containing meat during a Qatar Airways flight, having been told to 'just eat around it', according to a wrongful death lawsuit.
The shocking incident took place on 1 August 2023, when 85-year-old Asoka Jayaweera, a retired Southern California cardiologist, was flying from Los Angeles to Sri Lanka with the airline.
According to a lawsuit filed by his son, Surya, the elderly passenger had pre-ordered a vegetarian meal weeks in advance, but when meal service came around, he was told there were no vegetarian options left.
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Instead, flight attendants allegedly advised him to 'eat around the meat'.
However, what happened next turned tragic.
The lawsuit, obtained by the Independent, claims Jayaweera tried to follow the crew’s instructions, attempting to eat the meal while avoiding the meat. But moments later, he began to choke.
Cabin crew initiated emergency medical aid and contacted MedAire, a remote medical service used by airlines for in-flight emergencies. Despite their efforts, including administering oxygen, his condition quickly deteriorated. His oxygen saturation levels plummeted to 69%, far below the safe minimum of 88%, and never recovered above 85%.
By around 07:30 UTC, Jayaweera lost consciousness.
At the time, it's believed the aircraft was flying over Wisconsin, but crew allegedly told passengers that an emergency landing wasn’t possible because the flight was 'already over the Arctic Circle and about to cross the ocean'.
Surya’s legal team, however, disputes this claim, as they are arguing that the plane could have safely diverted to an airport in the US Midwest to get urgent medical help.
Instead, the flight continued for hours, eventually landing in Edinburgh, Scotland at around 11am UTC, roughly three and a half hours after Jayaweera had lost consciousness.
He was rushed to hospital upon landing but, tragically, died on 3 August. Doctors later attributed his death to aspiration pneumonia, a condition caused by inhaling food or liquid into the lungs.
The complaint, originally filed on 31 July 2024 and later moved to a federal court, accuses Qatar Airways of gross negligence. It claims the airline’s failure to provide the correct meal, coupled with the alleged refusal to divert the plane for emergency care, directly led to Jayaweera’s death.
It also points out that Qatar Airways offers 19 special meal types, including seven vegetarian options such as vegan, Jain, Hindu, and lacto-ovo meals, meaning the airline had multiple ways to accommodate the passenger’s dietary needs.
Under the Montreal Convention, which governs airline liability for passenger injuries and deaths, compensation is typically capped at around $175,000. However, Jayaweera’s son is seeking damages beyond that limit, including legal fees and pre-judgement interest, claiming his father’s death was entirely preventable.
The case has sparked widespread debate about how airlines handle dietary requests and medical emergencies mid-flight. Many travellers have taken to social media calling for stricter accountability, arguing that 'eating around' something should never be an acceptable solution for anyone with specific dietary restrictions, whether moral, religious, or health-related.
FOODBible has reached out to Qatar Airways for comment.
Niamh Spence