Qatar Airways and Jetstar aircraft near-collision narrowly averted at Sydney airport

A collision between two passenger aircraft of Qatar Airways and Jetstar was narrowly averted on Sunday morning, prompting safety regulators to launch an investigation, officials said.

The close shave, captured on video at Australia’s busiest airport, left a crew member injured.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) confirmed the incident and said the incident disrupted operations at the Sydney airport after the pilot aboard the Jetstar aircraft was forced to push sudden brakes to avoid crashing into a Qatar Airways jet.

It said a Jetstar Airbus A320 was taxiing for a flight to the Gold Coast when its crew “observed a Qatar Airways Boeing 777, under tow from an aircraft tug, in close proximity on a crossing taxiway”.

“A cabin crew member aboard the [Jetstar] A320 was injured, and there was damage to the connection between the 777 nose gear and aircraft tug” as both planes stopped abruptly, a statement from the ATSB said.

“Both aircraft were stopped abruptly. A cabin crew member aboard the A320 was injured, and there was damage to the connection between the 777 nose gear and the aircraft tug,” the ATSB added.

The regulator said investigators are sourcing data from both aircraft to track the sequence of events, air traffic control and interviewing crew and tug operators to determine the cause behind the near collision.

Witnesses present at the airport have been called to send in any videos of the near collision.

New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said he was “obviously concerned” about the near-miss incident and the airports operating with enough air traffic controllers.

“Not just the safety risks but we want to make sure the airport is operating at full capacity,” he said.

“That is hugely important for our economy. We don’t want to see people disrupted if they go to the airport and services are cancelled because there are not enough air traffic controllers,” Mr Minns said.

He added that the government was “hopeful that there’s a plan in place to recruit more people for a highly specialised but very important job”.

“We’re opening a brand new [western Sydney] airport in the not too distant future, so there’ll be even more strain on that service than there is today. It’s hard to employ people, particularly for these specialised services, because we’ve got a very tight labour market, but this isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have. It’s crucial for public safety and our economy,” the premier said.

Airservices Australia confirmed that flights at Sydney airport are experiencing delays after the incident. Passengers were reportedly forced to sit on the tarmac for more than an hour as more than 120 flights faced delays.

A Jetstar spokesperson confirmed the near-collision and said: “Our aircraft was following instructions from Air Traffic Control when the pilots were forced to brake firmly after another aircraft came in close proximity.”

The injured include a Jetstar crew member who was moving through the cabin when the plane abruptly stopped. They were later treated by paramedics.

Qatar Airways has not immediately issued a comment on the incident.