Investigations are underway as two airport workers were stood down following a near miss between two commercial planes at Sydney Airport.

The Gold Coast bound Jetstar flight was preparing to take off on Sunday when a crew member noticed a Qatar Airways plane heading towards each other, forcing the pilot to slam against the brakes, narrowly missing the other. 

Australian Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said the pilots who managed to successfully avoid the collision “prevented what could have been far more serious”, although a Jetstar crew member was injured during the incident. 

Two airport workers have been stood down as they await the outcome of preliminary investigation.

As a result, thousands of passengers experienced delays and missing flights. Federal Transport Minister Catherine King says airport services “need to do better”, and should be following protocols to avoid disruptions.

“They caused significant challenges to passengers, staff and airlines,” she said.

According to Chief Commissioner Mitchell, this is the second potential crash in recent weeks. He said they aim to discover the root of the problem by speaking to crew members from both airlines, collecting evidence and speaking with air traffic controls. 

Emergency meetings will be held in Canberra today. 

Photo: By Maksym Kozlenko is found HERE and is used under a Creative Commons License. This image has not been modified.