Qantas jet collides with airbridge

A Qantas flight arriving in Brisbane has been involved in a minor collision after its aircraft made contact with an airbridge while taxiing, prompting an investigation by both the airline and airport authorities.

The Boeing 737-800, operating as flight QF186 from Queenstown, New Zealand, touched down at Brisbane International Airport around 6.30pm on Wednesday. While taxiing to its designated gate, the aircraft collided with the passenger bridge.

No injuries were reported among passengers or crew, and all on board disembarked safely via portable stairs brought to the plane.

In a statement, Qantas confirmed the incident and said engineers would assess and repair the aircraft before it returned to service. “We’re investigating how an aerobridge made contact with the front of one of our aircraft at Brisbane Airport,” the airline said.

Brisbane Airport’s executive general manager of aviation, Ryan Both, stressed that safety remains the airport’s highest priority. “Last night a Qantas flight arrived from Queenstown and the aerobridge made contact with the aircraft, and we’re supporting Qantas with the investigation,” he said. “We really want to reinforce that safety is our first priority at Brisbane Airport and is absolutely paramount, so we’ll be doing everything we can to look into what happened and make sure we learn from it.”

Both Qantas and Brisbane Airport Corporation say they are working together to determine the cause of the incident and prevent a repeat.

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