Sydney Airport Investigated for Multiple Runway Incidents

Sydney Airport is under increased scrutiny following the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's (ATSB) release of preliminary findings into a series of runway incidents and near-collisions involving passenger aircraft over the past three months. Four such events have been recorded at the major international airport since late July.

The incidents began on July 27, when a Qantas Boeing 737 was cleared to cross a runway ahead of a landing QantasLink Dash 8. On August 9, a Jetstar Airbus A320 was forced to brake sharply to avoid a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 being towed across its path. The sudden braking caused a flight attendant on the Jetstar flight to fall and fracture her wrist.

Further incidents occurred on the same day, August 9, when a Qantas Boeing 737 was cleared to cross a runway in front of a Virgin Australia 737 that had just been cleared for takeoff. Nine days later, on August 18, a Qantas Airbus A321 had to brake while taxiing to allow another Qantas 737 to pass in front of it.

In response, Sydney Airport stated that safety is its highest priority and that it will continue to support the Minister and Airservices in their review of the preliminary findings. The airport awaits the final reports and recommendations from the ATSB.

Investigators are examining whether staff resourcing pressures at Sydney Airport's control tower may have contributed to the incidents. This includes looking into the practice of combining operational roles, reliance on overtime to fill shifts, and whether training or supervision activities were conducted concurrently with operational duties. However, investigators have not yet determined if staffing factors directly contributed to any of the specific events.

Concerns about controller fatigue have also been raised, although the ATSB cautioned that a heightened risk of fatigue does not necessarily mean controllers were fatigued at the time of the incidents. Investigators are examining the effectiveness of existing measures to manage this identified risk.

These events occurred as an analysis indicated that Sydney Airport recorded the highest rate of ground conflicts per aircraft movement among Australia's major airports in the post-COVID period, approximately 20% above the national average. The ATSB noted that Sydney Airport is the country's most complex airport, a factor to consider in the ongoing investigations.