Two Passenger Jets Narrowly Avoid Collision at Sydney Airport

Two passenger aircraft — a Jetstar Airbus and a Qatar Airways Boeing — narrowly avoided colliding at Sydney Airport on Sunday. The incident was reported by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, as cited by Reuters.

According to the agency, the Airbus was taxiing toward the runway for a departure to the Gold Coast when its pilots spotted a Boeing being towed dangerously close on an intersecting taxiway. Both aircraft were forced to make emergency stops.

The abrupt braking injured one of the Airbus crew members. Regulators also reported damage to the tow bar connecting the Boeing's nose landing gear to the tractor pulling it, though the extent of the damage was not specified.

Airlines' response

Qatar Airways has not yet commented on the incident. Jetstar, on the other hand, said it has already launched its own investigation. "Our aircraft was following air traffic control instructions when the pilots had to brake sharply after another aircraft came too close," an airline spokesperson said.

Flight delays under new restrictions

Following Sunday's incident, Airservices Australia, the federal air navigation agency, introduced wider spacing between departures at Sydney Airport. A similar measure had already been in place the day before, causing significant flight delays. On Saturday, authorities attributed the restrictions to air traffic controller shift scheduling issues.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz