Australia investigates fourth close call at Sydney airport in less than a month

Australia's transport safety regulator has launched an investigation into a fourth air traffic control incident at Sydney Airport within the past month. The latest event occurred on August 18 when two Qantas aircraft were directed towards the same intersection on the ground, prompting one to brake suddenly to avoid a collision.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) stated that a Qantas Airbus A321, preparing for departure to the Gold Coast, applied its brakes to avoid a Qantas Boeing 737 arriving from Melbourne. The Boeing had been cleared to proceed along a taxiway that the Airbus had also been cleared to turn onto. While the ATSB confirmed there was no immediate risk of collision, the incident has prompted a thorough investigation to identify any common contributing factors with previous occurrences.

This marks the fourth such incident since late July. On July 27, two Qantas aircraft narrowly avoided a collision when a landing QantasLink Dash 8 and a Qantas 737, cleared to cross the same runway, came into conflict. The 737 stopped after crossing the safety hold point. Earlier on August 9, a Jetstar A320 had to brake sharply to avoid a Qatar Airways Boeing 777, resulting in an injury to a cabin crew member. On the same day, a Virgin Australia 737 cleared for takeoff spotted a Qantas aircraft crossing the runway ahead and stopped approximately 1 kilometer short of the other plane, which had also received clearance to cross.

Separately, the ATSB reported on August 20 that an air traffic controller had raised concerns about staff preparedness for complex airspace and procedure changes following the opening of a new international airport in Sydney's west. A survey indicated that over 50 controllers expressed worries about insufficient time to learn new, detailed material before the airspace changes took effect on July 9. The controller drew parallels to a fatal mid-air collision in Washington D.C. in January 2025, where staff had previously alerted management to similar issues.