The AirAsia plane was taking off from the airport at 11.42am and the Jetstar plane was descending when the two aircraft came within 152 metres of each other, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.

The AirAsia Airbus A330 was bound for Auckland, and the Jetstar Airbus A320 was arriving from Victoria’s Avalon Airport, near Geelong.

Although the near-miss caused alarm in the cockpits of both planes, it is unlikely the passengers would have noticed, said the report.

A spokesman for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau confirmed it was investigating the matter.

A Jetstar spokesman was quoted as saying the pilots of the A320 had received clearance from air traffic control to descend.

“During descent the aircraft warning system alerted our pilots to another aircraft approaching our approved flight path,” he said.

“Our pilots took corrective action to restore the safe distance between the two aircraft. The flight continued onto the Gold Coast and landed without further incident.

“It’s likely that most passengers would not have been aware of the incident. Our crew did a fantastic job and responded to the situation as they are trained to do. At all times they followed the instructions of air traffic control.”

The Jetstar pilots put their aircraft into a climb to re-establish a safe distance between the two planes, said the Sydney Morning Herald report.