Two passenger aircraft—a Jetstar A320 and a Qatar Airways Boeing 777—came close to colliding 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 by an aircraft tug in close proximity 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. The incident also caused damage to the connection between the Boeing 777's nose gear and the aircraft tug.

Jetstar, a low-cost subsidiary of Australia's national carrier Qantas, stated that their 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.

The ATSB is gathering data from the planes, air traffic control, and interviewing crew and tug operators to determine the cause of the near collision. They have also called for witnesses at Sydney Airport to provide any visuals of the incident.

Following the event, flights at Sydney Airport experienced delays, as reported by government agency Airservices Australia. The incident occurred a day after widespread delays at the airport were caused by Airservices Australia authorizing "departure spacing" due to roster issues with air traffic controllers.

Sources