NEW DELHI: A plea has been filed to stop the flight operations of air carrier SpiceJet following reports of regular technical malfunctions. The plea was filed in the Delhi High Court by lawyer Rahul Bhardwaj. The court, which accepted the petition which presented that the company has failed to put in place an effective system for the safety of passengers, will hear it on Monday.

Recently the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that, on average, 30 such incidents daily take place but these hardly have any safety implications. Technical malfunctions were reported in SpiceJet flights in the last 18 days. Taking note of the incidents, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had earlier said that the passenger safety is paramount. Even the smallest error hindering safety will be thoroughly investigated and course-corrected, he added.

Four flights, departing from and arriving at various airports in the country, have made emergency landings in different parts of the country in the last 48 hours. Air Arabia flight G9-426 from Sharjah to Kochi made an emergency landing in Kochi due to hydraulic failure. An Ethiopian Airlines flight en route to Bangkok had to land at Kolkata airport due to a pressure problem and an Air India Express flight from Karipur to Dubai had to land at Muscat after a burning smell came from the cabin. A Sri Lankan Airlines flight also made an emergency landing at the Chennai airport due to hydraulic failure.

Earlier, the DGCA had issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet after eight incidents of technical malfunction were reported on its aircraft since June 19.

The DGCA said that SpiceJet had failed to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services. The air regulator had given SpiceJet three weeks to respond to the notice.