Australian authorities investigate two more taxiing incidents at Sydney Airport amid air traffic controller shortage
Why It MattersRepeated near-miss incidents at a major hub point to controller-staffing pressure that could strain ground movement safety and airport capacity across busy commercial airports.
Australian authorities are investigating two more aircraft taxiing incidents at Sydney Airport, adding to a string of near misses at the country's busiest airport. On August 25, a Jetstar aircraft leaving its gate nearly crossed paths with a second aircraft taxiing behind it, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said on August 26.
In an earlier incident on August 16, a Qantas Airways jet and a Virgin Australia jet had converging routes after landing. The Qantas crew spotted the other aircraft and stopped. The Virgin Australia aircraft had been instructed by air traffic control to give way to the Qantas plane, but the crew did not read back the instruction and air traffic control failed to detect the omission, according to the ATSB.
The two latest incidents follow at least six similar events in the past month and highlight a persistent shortage of air traffic controllers at Sydney Airport, with safety officials warning the system is showing signs of nearing a breaking point.
