周日上午，捷星航空一架A320客机在悉尼机场获得起飞许可后被迫紧急制动，以避免与正在滑行的卡塔尔航空波音777相撞[1]。事件中，一名机组人员受伤，卡塔尔航空飞机的鼻部起落架与飞机牵引车连接处受损[1]。澳大利亚运输安全局首席专员就此表示，"这两架飞机不应该靠得这么近"[1]。
事件发生后，一名空中交通管制员和一名地勤人员被停职[1]。澳大利亚运输安全局随即启动调查，空中交通服务部首席执行官Rob Sharp被传唤到运输部长Catherine King面前[1]。这是数周内第二起类似事件，反映了澳大利亚空中交通管制部门的系统性问题。
澳大利亚空中交通管制部门自2021年新冠疫情期间大量空中交通管制员退休后，一直存在容量问题[1]。培训一名新的空中交通管制员需要长达18个月的时间[1]。航空公司敦促政府将Airservices Australia纳入消费者权利方案[1]。
A Jetstar A320 aircraft was forced to execute an emergency braking maneuver on Sunday morning after receiving takeoff clearance, narrowly avoiding a collision with a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 that was taxiing across the runway at Sydney Airport.[1] One crew member sustained injuries in the incident, and the nose landing gear of the Qatar Airways aircraft was damaged where it connected to the aircraft tug.[1]
This near-miss represents the second such occurrence within weeks at the airport.[1] Following the incident, an air traffic controller and a ground staff member were suspended from duty.[1] Australia's Transport Safety Bureau has launched an investigation into the event, and Airservices Australia's Chief Executive Officer Rob Sharp was called before Transport Minister Catherine King.[1] The Bureau's Chief Commissioner stated that "these two aircraft should not have been that close together."[1]
The incident underscores systemic capacity problems within Australia's air traffic control system that have persisted since the COVID-19 pandemic, when a significant number of controllers retired in 2021.[1] Training a new air traffic controller requires up to eighteen months to complete.[1] In response, airlines have urged the government to include Airservices Australia in consumer rights frameworks.[1]