A Malaysian court today gave Malaysia Airlines and the government until Dec 15 to reply to a negligence case filed against them over the disappearance of flight MH370, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said.

The negligence case was filed in October by two sons of businessman Jee Jing Hang, one of the 239 people on board the missing jetliner.

It is the first suit against the airline and the government relating to MH370, which disappeared without a trace on March 8 an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur destined for China.

The plaintiffs allege that Malaysia Airlines was negligent and failed to take all due safety measures, and that the government did not try to establish contact within reasonable time after the flight disappeared from radar.

They also alleged that the Immigration Department failed in its duties by allowing passengers with fake identities onto the plane.

- dpa