Jetstar flight aborts take-off at Mackay Airport

The airline is blaming technical issues.
The airline is blaming technical issues. Photo credit: Getty Images

A Jetstar flight from Mackay to Brisbane on Thursday night came to a sudden stop midway through take-off.

It's believed the aircraft was travelling at around 200km/h when it came to an abrupt halt.

People onboard Flight JQ887 told local media that pilots "narrowly avoided" another aircraft on the tarmac, but the airline says a "technical issue" is at fault and not air traffic.

"Passengers have told 7 News Mackay they saw another aircraft narrowly avoid the plane," journalist Laura Lavelle said in a tweet.

A Jetstar spokesperson told 7 News: "The decision to return to the stand was unrelated to air traffic. Due to a technical issue in the flight deck, the captain decided to reject the take-off, in accordance with standard procedures." 

The flight was subsequently delayed by more than five hours.