Singapore Airlines Faces Lawsuit Over Satay Skewer Injury Claim

Singapore Airlines is facing legal action from a passenger who claims the carrier's complimentary business class satay service left her with a career-threatening throat injury during a flight from Singapore to Los Angeles last July.

Briohny Smyth, an Australian-born former Thai pop singer who now works as a yoga instructor and wellness influencer, filed a federal complaint alleging that while traveling aboard flight SQ36 on July 28, 2024, a jagged splinter broke from a wooden satay skewer and became lodged in her throat. According to the filing, she unknowingly swallowed the fragment, which caused immediate pain, violent coughing, and respiratory distress. Smyth reportedly expelled a wooden shard measuring approximately 1.5 inches in length during the flight.

The lawsuit claims that an ear, nose, and throat specialist later identified scarring and trauma to Smyth's vocal cords. She alleges ongoing symptoms including persistent throat discomfort, vocal fatigue, raspiness, and pain when speaking or singing for extended periods—particularly significant given her background in professional performance. The timing proves especially unfortunate, as Smyth had posted on social media about returning to the stage just two weeks before the incident, her first such performance since retiring from professional singing in 2004.

The case proceeds under Article 17 of the Montreal Convention, the international treaty governing airline liability, rather than California state negligence law. This provision covers bodily injury caused by an "accident" during international air transportation. Smyth seeks compensation for past and future medical expenses, lost earnings, pain and emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Satay remains a signature element of Singapore Airlines' premium cabin service, typically presented before the appetizer course with accompaniments including onions, cucumber, and peanut sauce. The incident adds to a catalog of foreign-object cases involving airline catering, though carriers face such claims across various meal items regardless of cuisine. Singapore Airlines has not publicly responded to the allegations.