A Qantas jet was forced to abort its landing at Brisbane Airport this afternoon, when a departing Virgin Australia plane remained on the runway.

Air Services Australia confirmed the pilots of QF528 from Sydney were issued with instruction to perform a "go around" to prevent a collision late in their attempt to land at Brisbane just after 1.30pm.

The instruction delayed the Qantas flight by more than 20 minutes as it circled the airport waiting for clearance to land.

An Air Services Australia spokesman denied it was a near miss.

"We don't allow them too close, there is a standard separation, so while it may look close to someone standing on the ground, but that's an optical illusion," he said.