Forced to eat meat, doc dies midair

Served non-veg food on Qatar Airways flight, the vegetarian choked to death trying to eat around the meat

- FPJ News Service

A California-based cardiologist and lifelong vegetarian died aboard a Qatar Airways flight after being served a non-vegetarian meal and choking while trying to eat around the meat, his family has alleged in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in a California court.

Dr Asoka Jayaweera, 85, was travelling from Los Angeles to Colombo on June 30, 2023, when the incident occurred. According to court filings, he had pre-booked a vegetarian meal for the 15.5-hour flight, but was informed midair by a flight attendant that no vegetarian meals were available. Instead, he was handed a standard non-vegetarian meal and told to “eat around the meat.”