A Jetstar Airbus A320 came within about 15 metres of a white van as it touched down at Townsville airport in Queensland, in an incident Australia's transport safety regulator has classified as serious.

Flight JQ908 had completed the short hop from Brisbane — roughly an hour and a half in the air — and was on final approach on 7 October when the van drove into a restricted area beside the runway. The aircraft passed directly over it and landed without further problem. No one was hurt, but the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has opened an investigation into how the vehicle ended up there in the first place. Neither Jetstar nor the airport has explained why the van was so close to an active runway.

There's a specific rule that appears to be at the centre of the inquiry. Airside drivers are told never to cross an illuminated stop bar, even if air traffic control verbally waves them onto a runway. Those red light bars exist precisely to keep vehicles out of the way when a plane is landing — crossing one turns the runway into a restricted zone. Townsville adds a layer of complexity: the airport is run by Queensland Airports but operates jointly with the Australian Defence Force under a shared-use agreement, and its air traffic control is actually provided by the Air Force. A Defence spokesperson confirmed it is working with the ATSB on the runway incursion investigation, though no further details will come out while that's ongoing. Jetstar, for its part, says the flight landed normally and that it is cooperating with investigators.

What makes this worth noting is the pattern. Just two months earlier, another Jetstar A320 was involved in a near-miss at Sydney airport, where the crew braked hard while taxiing for a Gold Coast departure after a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 being towed appeared on a crossing taxiway far too close. A cabin crew member was injured in that sudden stop, and the tow connection on the 777's nose gear was damaged. That incident is also under ATSB investigation.

For travellers, neither event involved injuries to passengers, and both airlines continue flying their normal schedules — Jetstar's Brisbane–Townsville route runs daily and remains the quickest way into North Queensland. But the back-to-back ground incidents at two different airports do put a spotlight on ground operations rather than flying itself, which is where the scrutiny will now fall. If you're flying into Townsville, nothing changes for you in practical terms: expect the usual short flight from Brisbane, a compact regional terminal, and easy access to Magnetic Island and the Great Barrier Reef gateway once you land.

The ATSB's findings, when published, will likely shape how vehicle movements are managed at joint civilian-military airports — and whether the stop-bar rule needs better enforcement. Until then, both incidents remain open cases.

Story via The Independent Travel.