Airservices defends Sydney incursion report timing

Airservices Australia said on Friday it did not treat a runway incursion at Sydney Airport involving Virgin Australia and Qantas as a mandatory report under the criteria it applies, even though the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) was notified four days after the event.

The incident occurred on Sunday when a Virgin flight aborted its takeoff after a Qantas aircraft crossed the runway, Airservices Australia said. The agency said air traffic controllers rescinded clearances while the aircraft were still more than 1 kilometer apart.

ATSB opens investigation after Thursday notification

Airservices Australia

The ATSB said it opened an investigation after receiving notification on Thursday. ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said the bureau was seeking reasons for the delayed report and described the loss of separation as a transport safety concern. Mitchell said it was too early to draw conclusions. He said the ATSB would consider whether organisational or systemic issues contributed to the incident involving the Virgin and Qantas aircraft. Airservices says reporting threshold was not met Airservices Australia chief executive Rob Sharp said the event did not meet the mandatory reporting requirements based on the criteria the agency uses. He said that, under that assessment, the agency did not view the incident as triggering mandatory notification.

Sharp said Airservices Australia was willing to re-examine the operational information linked to the event. He said the agency was open to reviewing the data and making changes if the review identified improvements that should be made.

Third Sydney safety incident in recent weeks

The runway incursion was the third safety incident at Sydney Airport in recent weeks, according to the ATSB and Airservices Australia. The ATSB said earlier events included a near-collision involving Jetstar and Qatar Airways aircraft and a separate runway crossing issue in late July.

The ATSB said there are about 60 runway incursions a year in Australia, but added that such incidents rarely occur at major airports or involve large aircraft. As part of its current investigation, the bureau said it planned to review operational data and reporting practices.

Reporting criteria and operational conditions under review

An open question raised by the investigation is whether evidence from the Sydney incidents points to a need for changes in reporting criteria or broader operational issues. The ATSB said it is assessing factors that include potential air traffic controller shortages.

The investigation is expected to focus on what happened on the runway, how separation was managed, and how the event was escalated to the safety investigator. Officials have not yet stated what conclusions, if any, will follow from the review.