Qatar Airways aircraft in near-miss with Jetstar at Sydney Airport

On Sunday, a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 narrowly avoided a collision with a Jetstar A320 at Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport. The Jetstar aircraft, bound for Australia's Gold Coast, had to make an emergency stop after coming into close proximity with the Qatar Airways plane while taxiing to the runway. Both planes came to a halt, and paramedics evaluated a Jetstar cabin crew member; however, no passengers sustained injuries. The Qatar Airways airline has not yet commented on the incident.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) chief commissioner Angus Mitchell stated that the investigation would examine data from both aircraft, air traffic control records, CCTV footage, and interviews with flight crew, tug operators, controllers, and witnesses. ATSB is probing the cause of the incident, as the breakdown of communication is yet to be determined.

This is not the first near-miss at Sydney Airport; two weeks prior, on July 27, a Qantas Boeing 737 narrowly avoided colliding with a QantasLink Dash-8 while taxiing across a runway. The ATSB found a "breakdown of coordination" in that incident and is currently investigating.

The near-miss incidents come amidst ongoing staffing challenges at Sydney's international airport. Over 150 flights were delayed, including approximately 95 flights from the Qantas network and some Virgin Australia services, on Saturday due to a shortage of air traffic control tower staff. Flights were also held on the tarmac for over an hour on Friday because of separate air traffic flow management restrictions.