A Southwest Airlines plane and a private jet narrowly avoided a collision at Chicago’s Midway International Airport on Tuesday morning, CNN reported. The commercial flight crew performed a go-around maneuver to prevent a potential runway incident, according to a statement from the airline.
Southwest flight 2504 landed safely at the airport after executing the evasive maneuver, the company confirmed. “The crew followed safety procedures, and the flight landed without incident,” a Southwest spokesperson said in an email to CNN.
According to footage captured by the live-streaming platform StreamTime Live, the commercial plane and the private aircraft were on a possible collision course before the Southwest crew aborted the landing. The images show the private jet on the runway as the Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 approached.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it will investigate the incident to determine the exact circumstances and whether air traffic control procedures were breached. “Safety is the top priority, and all factors involved in the go-around maneuver will be reviewed,” the FAA said in a statement quoted by CNN.
Midway International Airport, which handles both commercial and private flights, is one of the busiest airports in the Chicago region, according to data from the Chicago Department of Aviation. The FAA noted that air traffic in the United States has increased in recent years, adding to the workload of air traffic controllers and flight crews.
These types of incidents have drawn attention from U.S. authorities in recent months. In 2023, the FAA held a safety summit following several similar events at high-traffic airports such as John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas. During the meeting, measures to strengthen communication between flight crews and air traffic controllers were discussed, according to Reuters.
In the case of Midway Airport, weather conditions were favorable at the time of the incident, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). No weather-related factors were reported that could have affected visibility or flight operations in the area, the meteorological agency stated.
The FAA has urged all airlines and operators to strictly follow safety procedures to minimize the risk of runway incidents. According to an FAA report published in January 2025, airports with the highest number of runway incursions include Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago, among others.
Midway International Airport recorded more than 220,000 aircraft operations in 2024, according to data from the Chicago Department of Aviation. This figure represents an increase compared to previous years, prompting authorities to reinforce safety measures at the airport.
The FAA’s investigation into the Chicago incident may include a review of recordings of conversations between the control tower and flight crews, as well as an analysis of flight data from both aircraft, agency sources told CNN. As of now, no penalties or disciplinary actions have been reported following the event
