Australian transport authorities are investigating a series of dangerous near-misses at Sydney Airport after three incidents occurred within a fortnight, raising concerns about air traffic control procedures.

A Virgin Australia 737 was forced to abort its takeoff on Sunday morning when crew spotted a Qantas aircraft crossing the runway ahead of them. Both planes had been cleared by air traffic control, with the Virgin crew bringing their aircraft to a halt about one kilometre from the other plane.

Earlier the same day, a Jetstar pilot had to brake sharply to avoid colliding with a Qatar Airways jet on the tarmac.

The incidents followed a similar close call on 27 July, when two Qantas aircraft narrowly avoided a collision after both received clearance for takeoff.

Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said on Friday the investigation would examine whether organisational or systemic failures contributed to the occurrences.

“I can reassure the travelling public that we will consider any organisational or systemic issues that may have contributed to these occurrences, and will do so in a comprehensive and timely manner,” Mitchell said.

Investigators will examine how busy the airport was during each incident and staffing levels in the control tower at the time.

Mitchell acknowledged that a “supervisory or training situation” was taking place on Sunday when two of the near-misses occurred.

“We do know that this is a significant ramping-up period for air services in terms of recruiting, training and qualifying air traffic controllers,” he said.

Questions have also emerged about the delay in reporting the incidents to authorities.

“What we do know is three incidents occurred that shouldn’t have occurred. We need to understand why,” Mitchell said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for a thorough investigation into the close calls.

Sydney Airport is Australia’s busiest aviation hub, handling hundreds of domestic and international flights daily.