A lawyer from Mumbai has demanded Rs 87 lakh from international airline Emirates for ‘trauma’ after he found a cockroach in his in-flight meal, Mumbai Mirror reported.

He was so disgusted by the sight of an insect in his food that he threw up a few times in the bathroom, the report added.

Yusuf Iqbal was flying first class from Casablanca in Morocco to Mumbai on February 27 when he discovered the insect in his salad. Iqbal, a lawyer, has been practising law for 17 years and is a senior member of London-based International Council of Jurists. He was travelling with his wife Suruchi and their 18 friends in February to celebrate his 40th birthday.

Iqbal also told the daily that the incident put him off flying and he later skipped a work-related engagement that required air travel. He missed out on anticipated professional fees of Rs 30 lakh, according to the legal notice to Emirates. “He has cited the loss of the potential fees, Rs 50 lakh for mental trauma, and Rs 7 lakh for his and wife’s first-class return tickets (Mumbai-Casablanca-Mumbai) in the compensation demand,” the report said.

Iqbal sent the legal notice last week after a “without prejudice or admission of liability” response from the airline “admitted” that it was a beetle and offered him 25,000 air miles “as a token of regret”. He maintains he saw a cockroach in his chicken salad.

In its response to the complaint, the airline’s customer affairs executive said: “The inspection of the beetle allegedly found in your salad shows it was a common seasonal beetle found in Morocco. But, finding out how it came aboard was difficult to pinpoint.”

It added: “The only explanation that is plausible, is that despite fumigation of the aircraft at Casablanca, the beetle somehow got in the aircraft whilst in Casablanca airport waiting for boarding, and was possible lurking somewhere in the galley area.”

Iqbal has given Emirates time till mid-April to pay the Rs 87-lakh compensation.