Two passenger planes, a Jetstar A320 and a Qatar Airways Boeing 777, nearly collided on the tarmac at Australia's busiest Sydney Airport on Sunday, August 9th, 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 a statement from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

"Both aircraft were stopped abruptly," the statement 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 Australia's national carrier Qantas, said 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 into the incident.

The ATSB is gathering data from both planes, air traffic control, and interviewing crew and tug operators to determine the cause of the near collision. The regulator has also called for witnesses at Sydney Airport to submit any visuals of the event.

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

Sources