Improved staff rostering practices for Sydney's air traffic controllers are set to be implemented from early September. This follows recent "unacceptable" delays and a near-miss collision at Sydney Airport, according to Transport Minister Catherine King.
The incident on Sunday involved a Jetstar plane narrowly avoiding a Qatar Airways plane that was being pulled across a runway. Two staff members, an Airservices Australia air traffic controller and a tug driver, were temporarily stood down for standard post-incident testing. A cabin crew member on the Jetstar plane was injured during the abrupt stop.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating Sunday's incident, as well as another near-miss on 27 July involving Qantas aircraft. The ATSB head, Angus Mitchell, stated that planes should not be getting that close and pilots should not have to make last-minute emergency decisions.
Minister King also noted that a new Sydney Tower simulator has been installed to increase training capacity for air traffic controllers. She expects 95 people to be endorsed as air traffic controllers by the end of the year.