Aviation bosses summoned, airport workers stood down after Sydney near-miss

Airservices Australia CEO summoned to Canberra after second Sydney Airport near-miss in a week Mon 10 Aug 2026 at 7:56am , updatedMon 10 Aug 2026 at 7:59am In short: Two airport workers have been stood down as investigations into how two planes almost collided at Sydney Airport on Sunday. It comes as the head Civil Air Association, the union representing air traffic controllers, said staffing shortages were taking a toll on those on the frontline. What's next? Federal Transport Catherine King is set to meet with Airservices Australia CEO Rob Sharp in Canberra today after the second incident in recent weeks. Emergency meetings will be held in Canberra as an investigation gets underway into a near-miss involving two passenger planes at Sydney Airport following days of flight disruptions and delays. Two airport workers were stood down pending the outcome of an official investigation into the near collision, which left a Jetstar crew member injured on Sunday. Jetstar flight JQ402 was preparing to take off for the Gold Coast and was taxiing to the runway when it was forced to slam on the brakes. Its flight crew noticed a Qatar Airways plane that was being towed along the tarmac by an aircraft tug and in close proximity. Both aircraft stopped abruptly, avoiding crashing by mere metres. Describing it as "extremely concerning", federal Transport Minister Catherine King vowed any "systemic issues" to come out of the investigation by the aviation safety watchdog would be addressed. She also said Airservices Australia "needs to do better" to manage disruptions at the airport, which has grappled with a shortage of air traffic controllers. Thousands of passengers were affected by lengthy delays to flights over recent days, with some missing flight connections as a result. "They caused significant challenges to passengers, staff and airlines "My office has asked for an explanation, and for Airservices to outline a pathway to improve the delivery of its services,"Ms King said. It was understood the organisation's CEO Rob Sharp will meet with her this morning in Canberra. Airservices Australia, the government-owned body responsible for safely and efficiently managing air traffic, on Sunday said in a statement that Air Traffic Flow Management measures had been put in place following the incident, including departure spacing "to safely manage projected airborne and departure demands". "Airservices is reviewing the incident and will assist with any safety investigation," it said 'A very stressful environment' Australian Transport Safety Bureau's Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell is heading the investigation into yesterday's near collision. He said it was too early to confirm the cause with investigators examining all possibilities, including one line of inquiry that the tug pulling the aircraft did not follow Air Traffic Control instructions. "Now exactly why they came so close is I guess really what we're trying to understand at the moment so we're gathering the evidence we need to make that determination," he said. "So that will be from both the pilots on board the Jetstar aircraft, those that were controlling the Qatar plane, as well as those in the coordination of air traffic control, to understand what potentially broke down in the coordination or communication. "Most importantly what we need to do to strengthen the system, so we don't get this happening again at Sydney airport, or any other airport in Australia." It was the second near-miss at the airport in recent weeks, with two Qantas planes narrowly avoiding crashing late last month. Commissioner Mitchell said in both instances the pilots were able to act quickly to avoid a collision. He said the probe would be wide-ranging and also scrutinise whether the understaffing issues within the airport's air traffic control fleet had any role to play. Commissioner Mitchell said the investigation needed to uncover whether systemic changes were needed to ensure that if individual errors are made, that there are other mechanisms in place to avoid serious problems. 'There aren't enough controllers' The government confirmed the air traffic control ground worker and the tug operator involved in yesterday's near collision have both been stood down, pending the outcome of the investigation. A Jetstar spokesperson said the aircraft had been following air traffic control instructions during the incident and its captain acted "quickly and decisively". The crew member sustained a minor injury after falling when the pilot hit the brakes. The boss of the union representing air traffic controllers declined to publicly comment what he believed was the cause of the two near collisions, saying it was "premature" while investigations were underway. But Civil Air president Scott Nugent, who is a trained air traffic controller, said staffing shortages took a heavy toll on those working on the frontline. "What I can say is that air traffic controllers in Australia are working very hard, and for a long time they have not necessarily had the resources they need to do their jobs properly," he told the ABC. "There aren't enough controllers in Australia." He said the air traffic control system at Sydney Airport relies on workers doing excessive overtime, with some potentially doing more than 20 extra hours a week. "We've seen in the past few days what happened when you don't have enough air traffic controllers, the impact on industry," he said. "Civil Air has been saying to Airservices over the past four or five years you don't have enough air traffic controllers in Sydney airport tower. "No matter why they occurred, people no longer want to work the overtime because they're very stressed and upset, and the whole system is propped up on overtime." Mr Nugent said he would also be meeting with Mr Sharp later today to discuss his concerns in the wake of the weekend disruption.