What happened
On 12 July 2025, at approximately 0940 local time, an Airbus A380 was parked at Sydney Airport, New South Wales. Once boarding of the aircraft’s upper deck had been completed and the upper main left door was closed by the customer service supervisor (inside the aircraft) assisted by the customer service agent (outside the aircraft), the agent returned to the double doors located inside of the aerobridge cabin.
The supervisor requested that the agent retract the aerobridge that was attached to the upper main left door. The agent reported having difficulty closing the aerobridge double doors prior to retraction, only closing the right door after the fourth attempt. When the agent then swiped on at the aerobridge operating panel to begin retracting the aerobridge, they heard alarms sounding. The agent returned to the double doors on the aerobridge to see if this was the source of the alarms and reported that they assessed the alarms as being associated with the nearby lower deck aerobridge attached to the aircraft.
With the alarms still sounding, the agent then attempted to retract the aerobridge straight back multiple times without success. Believing that a straight back retraction could be achieved if the aerobridge was moved slightly to the right, they proceeded with this aerobridge movement. However, while moving to the right, the aerobridge contacted with the number 2 engine (Figure 1). The aircraft sustained minor damage.
Figure 1: Aerobridge contact with no 2 engine
Source: Media, annotated by the ATSB
Safety message
A 2010 ATSB research study into Ground operations occurrences at Australian airports found approximately 28 per cent of all ground operations occurrences happened while the aircraft was parked at the gate. Collision or contact with an aircraft by a vehicle, including aerobridges, was the most common gate event reported to the ATSB.
There are many risk controls in place at airports and within ground handling companies and airlines to help minimise the hazards associated with airport ground operations. The ATSB reminds all ground handling personnel operating airside vehicles that if an abnormal situation should occur, such as the audible alarms in this incident, to cease operations immediately and request assistance. Effective communication is vital to reduce the risk of ground operations occurrences.
About this report
Decisions regarding whether to conduct an investigation, and the scope of an investigation, are based on many factors, including the level of safety benefit likely to be obtained from an investigation. For this occurrence, no investigation has been conducted and the ATSB did not verify the accuracy of the information. A brief description has been written using information supplied in the notification and any follow-up information in order to produce a short summary report, and allow for greater industry awareness of potential safety issues and possible safety actions.