

Video footage of an alleged near miss involving three planes at Melbourne Airport last year has emerged, prompting independent senator Nick Xenophon to call for an urgent review of safety at a federally owned company controlling aircraft movements in Australia.

The fears relate to an incident on July 5 when two Qantas jets – one from Sydney and the other from Canberra – were simultaneously forced to abort their night landings after an Emirates plane bound for Singapore delayed its take-off.

Senator Xenophon said the two Qantas aircraft ended up 20 seconds from collision and less than one nautical mile apart. He claimed this was a third of the mandated minimum separation, posing a "potential disaster".

However, both Qantas and Airservices Australia, the corporate Commonwealth body responsible for airspace management, said the aircraft maintained the required minimum distance from each other at all times.