Two passenger planes, a Jetstar A320 and a Qatar Airways Boeing 777, narrowly avoided a collision on the tarmac at Australia's busiest Sydney Airport on Sunday, August 9, 2026. The Jetstar flight was taxiing for takeoff to the Gold Coast in Queensland when its crew spotted the Qatar Airways plane being towed nearby on a crossing taxiway, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

"Both aircraft were stopped abruptly," the ATSB said, resulting in injury to a Jetstar cabin crew member who was moving through the cabin at the time. Additionally, the connection between the Boeing 777's nose gear and the aircraft tug was damaged.

Jetstar, a low-cost subsidiary of Qantas, stated that its aircraft was following instructions from Air Traffic Control when the pilots had to brake firmly due to the close proximity of the other aircraft. Jetstar is conducting its own investigation alongside the ATSB's probe, which involves collecting data from the planes, air traffic control, and interviewing crew and tug operators to determine the cause of the near collision.

The incident caused delays at Sydney Airport, as confirmed by government agency Airservices Australia. This event occurred a day after the airport experienced widespread delays caused by Airservices Australia implementing "departure spacing" due to air traffic controller roster issues.

Authorities have requested witnesses at the airport to provide any visual evidence of the incident.

Sources