The federal government has established an independent panel to oversee Airservices' handling of air traffic control problems at Sydney Airport, on the same day the ATSB released preliminary reports identifying staff resourcing within Sydney Tower as a recurring area of enquiry.
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King announced the Sydney Airport Air Traffic Control Independent Assurance Panel today. Retired Air Vice Marshal Ken Robinson AM will chair the panel, with Peter Wilson and David Oliver as members, for an initial six-month period.
The panel will provide independent assurance to the government that Airservices is implementing timely, lasting measures to improve service stability, reliability and resilience. Its remit covers air traffic control workforce planning, recruitment, training, roster resilience and system improvements.
"Australians rightly expect that when they travel, every layer of the system is working to keep them safe," King said. "Australia has a well-earned reputation for aviation safety. These incidents and the ATSB's preliminary reports highlight that we must take every opportunity to improve it."
King said the government expected Airservices to cooperate fully with the investigations and act promptly on the issues identified.
The panel sits alongside the existing Sydney Airport Air Traffic Control Working Group, led by the Department of Infrastructure and including Airservices, CASA, the airlines, unions and Sydney Airport. Airservices is also implementing its own Service Resilience Plan for the airport.
ATSB preliminary report
The ATSB has published preliminary reports into four of its six ongoing investigations into coordination and conflict occurrences at Sydney Airport in July and August, along with a statistical report on runway confliction occurrences at Australia's major airports.
The four occurrences are:
- 27 July: a runway incursion in which a Qantas Boeing 737 (VH-XZG) was cleared to cross in front of a QantasLink Dash 8 (VH-QOC) during its landing roll.
- 9 August: a taxiing proximity event in which a Jetstar A320 (VH-VQJ) braked abruptly to avoid a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 (A7-BEU) under tow. A flight attendant on the A320 fell during the braking and fractured a wrist.
- 9 August: a runway incursion and rejected take-off in which a Qantas Boeing 737 (VH-XZH) was cleared to cross the runway in front of a Virgin Australia 737 (VH-IJQ) that had just been cleared for take-off.
- 18 August: a taxiing conflict in which a Qantas A321 (VH-OGA) had to brake to let a Boeing 737 (VH-VXL) pass in front of it.
The preliminary reports contain no findings or analysis, which will come in the final reports. They set out the sequence of events and the operational context for each occurrence.
"While air traffic control involvement in each occurrence is still being examined, we can say based on information detailed in our preliminary reports that staff resourcing within Sydney Tower at the time of many of the occurrences has emerged as a recurring area of enquiry," ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said.
"These investigations will look to understand the significance of staff resourcing pressures within the tower, specifically, the practice of combining operational roles, the routine reliance on overtime to fill shifts, and training or supervision activities being conducted alongside operational duties."
The ATSB stressed it had not yet determined whether staffing factors directly contributed to any occurrence, or whether they were underlying conditions that Airservices had recognised and was managing effectively.
The reports also note that Airservices' roster modelling predicted elevated fatigue risk for staff at the time of many of the occurrences.
"It is important to note that an elevated fatigue risk in and of itself does not mean a controller was fatigued, or that fatigue influenced their performance," Mitchell said.
"We are examining the effectiveness of the measures in place to manage this identified risk."
Sydney above national average
The accompanying statistical report looked at ground-based conflictions at Australia's five busiest airports from 2016 to August 2026, to test whether the 11 occurrences recorded at Sydney in July and August reflected a post-COVID national trend or a more local pattern.
"Nationally, over the decade, reported ground-confliction rates have remained broadly steady," Mitchell said. "However, Sydney recorded the highest confliction rate per aircraft movement post COVID among the major airports, around 20% above the national average. This should however be viewed in the context of Sydney Airport being the most complex in the country.
"The analysis also found increases specific to Sydney in potentially high consequence occurrences, including runway incursions, taxiway near collisions and losses of separation attributed to air traffic control actions."
The ATSB will notify stakeholders immediately if it identifies any critical safety issues before the investigations conclude.
CASA: no immediate safety risk
CASA Director of Aviation Safety Pip Spence attended the ATSB briefing and press conference. A CASA spokesperson said the regulator had reviewed the preliminary reports and saw no immediate safety risk.
"CASA considers that Australia's aviation system and Sydney Airport remain safe," the spokesperson said. "Having reviewed the ATSB's preliminary reports, CASA remains of the view that none of the incidents indicate an immediate safety risk. If safety action was needed, we would have taken it."
CASA is conducting its own safety assurance review into whether there are underlying operational or system issues that could affect safety.
"CASA will not hesitate to act if broader safety issues are identified," the spokesperson said. "Our focus remains on ensuring Australians can continue to have confidence in a safe, resilient and closely monitored aviation system."