For most travelers, a hot cup of coffee is just a routine part of flying.

But for one New York woman, that cup turned into a life-altering trauma—one that’s now landed an international airline in the middle of a $10 million lawsuit.

What began as a quick hop between European cities turned into a high-stakes legal fight, with echoes of one of the most controversial lawsuits in US history.

Burned at 35,000 feet​

On April 3, 2024, 78-year old Aymara Corbo and her husband boarded Scandinavian Airlines Flight SK 1464 from Copenhagen to Oslo. According to a lawsuit now filed in US court, the flight attendant served Aymara a scalding cup of coffee—and spilled it directly onto her.

The result? Second- and possibly third-degree burns, physical pain, scarring, emotional distress, and what her legal team is calling cosmetic deformity.

And the costs weren’t just physical. The couple says the incident has reshaped their daily lives, strained their finances, and taken a toll on their marriage.

Now they’re suing—for $10 million​

The legal filing accuses the airline of gross negligence, citing excessive temperature and failure to exercise proper care when serving hot liquids.

Aymara is seeking $10 million in damages. Her husband, Giuseppe Corbo, is suing for an additional $1 million—alleging “loss of consortium,” or the companionship and shared support that the couple once enjoyed.

But it’s not just a personal injury case. Their legal team is citing international air travel laws like the Warsaw Convention, Montreal Convention, and the International Air Transport Association Inter-Carrier Agreement on Passenger Liability—global treaties that set the rules for airline responsibility in cross-border travel.



These treaties normally limit how much a passenger can sue for. But Aymara’s lawyers argue those limits don’t apply here.

Why? Because they claim the coffee wasn’t just hot—it was dangerously hot. And that the airline’s actions (or inaction) amount to reckless behavior, not just an accident.

If the court agrees, Scandinavian Airlines could be held fully liable—with no monetary cap on damages.

If this sounds familiar… it should​

You might remember the 1992 case of Stella Liebeck, the 79-year-old woman who was severely burned by McDonald’s coffee in her car.

That lawsuit became one of the most misunderstood—and debated—legal stories in modern history. Critics called it frivolous. But the facts were sobering: McDonald’s served its coffee at 180–190°F, and more than 700 people had been burned before Liebeck.

She needed skin grafts. She asked McDonald’s to cover her hospital bills. They offered $800.

The jury awarded her $160,000 in compensatory damages after fault adjustments and $2.7 million in punitive damages, later reduced to $480,000. The case was ultimately settled privately before the appeal concluded.



Third-degree burns can happen in just a few seconds if the liquid is hot enough. For older adults, like Aymara, the risks are even higher: thinner skin, slower healing, and a greater chance of complications.

Burn care can involve weeks of treatment, skin grafts, and long-term scarring—both physically and emotionally.

Read next:

• Stunned passengers watch crew wrestle first-class passenger in mid-flight meltdown
• This man is set to receive $50M from Starbucks–but not for a good reason.

Have you ever been burned by a hot drink mid-flight—or seen it happen to someone else? Should airlines be required to serve cooler beverages? Or is this just the cost of modern travel? Tell us in the comments. Your story might help another traveler stay safe.