A Jetstar plane has been involved in a near miss with a Qatar Airways plane on the tarmac at Sydney Airport this morning.
A Jetstar cabin crew worker was injured and assessed by paramedics. No passengers were injured.
The Jetstar A320 plane had to brake suddenly to avoid colliding with the Boeing 777 about 7am, with both planes stopping abruptly.
The Gold Coast-bound flight, JQ402, was taxiing to the runway when the incident occurred.
The ABC understands air traffic control was under operating restrictions from 6am to 8am this morning, reducing the number of planes flying in and out of the airport.
“Our aircraft was following instructions by Air Traffic Control when the pilots were forced to brake firmly after another aircraft came in close proximity,” a Jetstar spokesperson said.
“We have commenced an investigation into the incident.”
The ABC understands air traffic control was under operating restrictions. (ABC News)
Airservices Australia said in a statement that Air Traffic Flow Management measures had been put in place following the incident, including departure spacing “to safely manage projected airborne and departure demands”.
“We are working with airlines to reduce delays and the impact on passenger travel as much as possible,” they said in a statement.
“Airservices is reviewing the incident and will assist with any safety investigation.”
It comes after the air traffic safety body on Saturday said it was “working to address rostering issues” amid delays on the runway for multiple days in a row.
More than 150 flights were impacted as a result of roster constraints affecting the airport.
Investigations underway into near misses
An investigation is also underway by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) who said there was “damage to the connection between the 777 nose gear and aircraft tug”.
“The ATSB will collect available data from both aircraft, and air traffic control,” they said.
“Investigators will also interview the involved flight crew, tug operators and air traffic controllers, plus other witnesses and involved parties, and collect relevant recorded information including CCTV footage.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns says it is important that the airport functions properly. (ABC News)
Just last week, another near miss took place on one of the runways at the airport, following what the ATSB called a “breakdown of coordination” involving a QantasLink flight from Canberra and a Qantas Boeing 737 service from Queenstown in New Zealand.
“Air traffic control (ATC) cleared the 737 on runway 25 to cross runway 34L while the DHC-8 [Canberra flight] was in the landing roll on runway 34L,” the ATSB said in a statement at the time.
“ATC detected the conflict and advised both crews, with the 737 stopping after the holding point.”
That event is also under investigation.
When asked about the situation at the airport, including today’s near miss, NSW Premier Chris Minns described it as concerning.
“Not just the safety risks, but we want to make sure that the airport is operating at full capacity,” he said.
He said he hoped the workforce issues would be resolved ahead of the opening of the new Western Sydney airport, which could potentially create more shortages.
“That’s hugely important for our economy. We don’t want to see people disrupted if they go to the [Sydney] airport and services are cancelled because there’s not enough air traffic controllers,” he said.
“I know 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.”