A Virgin Australia Boeing 737 passenger aircraft collided with a ground towing vehicle while being moved to a hangar for maintenance at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport. The incident occurred on Sunday evening around 8:40 PM.
There were no passengers onboard at the time, and ground personnel involved in the incident reportedly escaped without injury. A spokesperson for Melbourne Airport confirmed that the incident did not result in any fatalities or serious injuries.
Footage from the scene shows visible cracks on the front left section of the aircraft, with the damage temporarily covered with tape. The aircraft is understood to be one of the models frequently used by Virgin Australia for domestic flights.
Virgin Australia stated that the incident would not affect flights scheduled for Monday and that operations would continue as normal.
Meanwhile, the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) issued a statement following the incident, arguing that such events point to a broader systemic issue within the Australian aviation sector.
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine commented:
“We are planning an urgent briefing with Virgin to discuss how incidents like this can be prevented in the future. We are calling on all aviation stakeholders to work together for a safer and more sustainable system.”
While technical inspections and safety procedures are ongoing, Virgin Australia teams are working to determine the full extent of the damage to the aircraft.
