Sydney Airport Ground-Conflict Rate 20% Above Five-Airport Average, ATSB Says

SYDNEY — Sydney Airport (SYD) recorded the highest rate of reported runway and taxiway conflicts among Australia's five busiest airports after the COVID-19 downturn, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) study released September 30. Its rate of 6.7 occurrences per 100,000 aircraft movements was about 20% above the five-airport average.

The measure covers runway incursions, taxiway conflicts, ground losses of separation and air traffic control information or procedural errors. It does not mean every occurrence was a near collision. The ATSB said a cluster of 11 reported Sydney incidents in July and August drove the airport's leading post-COVID rate. Six of those incidents remain under investigation.

July Runway Incursion

On July 27, a Qantas (QF) Boeing 737-800 was cleared to cross runway 34L while a QantasLink Bombardier DHC-8-400 was landing. Controllers instructed both aircraft to stop. They came to rest about 120m (394ft) apart, the ATSB's preliminary report says. The 737 stopped before the runway intersection but had entered the protected runway area.

The ATSB classified the event as a Category A runway incursion, its most serious severity category. It was the first recorded at Sydney and the third at a major Australian airport since the bureau began recording incursion severity in 2003. No one was injured.

In another preliminary report, covering August 9, a taxiing Jetstar Airways (JQ) Airbus A320 braked as a Qatar Airways (QR) Boeing 777-300ER was being towed across its path. A Jetstar cabin crew member fell and fractured a wrist. The ATSB also released preliminary reports on a second August 9 runway incursion and an August 18 taxiing conflict.

Staffing Is Under Examination

ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said tower staffing had emerged as a recurring line of inquiry. Investigators will examine combined control roles, overtime, training and supervision alongside operational duties. Airservices Australia's roster modelling predicted elevated fatigue risk for staff during many of the occurrences, but Mitchell cautioned that a predicted risk does not establish that a controller was fatigued or that fatigue affected performance.

The four preliminary reports describe evidence collected so far; they contain no findings on cause. The ATSB has not determined whether staffing contributed to any of the events. Its statistical study cautions that differences in detection and reporting can affect airport comparisons and that a higher reported rate does not by itself establish why it occurred. Aircraft movement figures for June through August 2026 were projected because published counts ended in May.

Qantas operational safety head Mark Cameron said the airline was working with Airservices, the ATSB and the industry on Sydney air traffic control operations. The ATSB says final investigation reports will contain its analysis and findings; it will notify relevant parties sooner if it identifies a critical safety issue.