Southwest 737 Performs Emergency Go-Around to Avoid Runway Collision at San Antonio Airport

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 arriving from Oklahoma City was forced to perform an emergency maneuver to avoid a potential collision while landing at San Antonio International Airport on Thursday afternoon, officials confirmed.

According to Tonya Hope, a spokesperson for the airport, the incident occurred at around 3 p.m., when air-traffic controllers instructed Southwest Flight 576 to execute a go-around maneuver after determining that another aircraft was still on the runway. “The aircraft was about 4.1 miles from the airport when ATC instructed the crew to go around to maintain safe separation,” Hope said. “The Southwest plane landed safely on the second approach without incident.”

Witnesses onboard described the tense moment when the aircraft was only about 150 feet above the runway and appeared seconds from touching down before the pilots abruptly throttled up and climbed away. The jet circled the area before making a smooth, uneventful landing roughly ten minutes later.

“The pilot later explained there was another plane on the runway,” one passenger told local media. The aircraft, carrying more than 100 passengers, had departed Oklahoma City earlier that day.

Southwest Airlines spokesperson Lynn Lunsford confirmed the crew’s actions were consistent with standard safety procedures: “Pilots are trained to perform go-arounds anytime there’s an issue with the approach. It’s a normal maneuver and even outlined on aeronautical charts for every airport. While passengers notice them because they’re rare, this flight landed safely about ten minutes later.”

Go-arounds—often called missed approaches—are standard aviation safety measures designed to prevent landings when conditions are not ideal, such as when another aircraft or obstacle is still on the runway, when spacing is insufficient, or when wind and visibility deteriorate during final approach.

San Antonio International Airport has not yet released further details about the incident, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has yet to comment amid the ongoing government shutdown, which has left the agency short-staffed. The FAA did, however, issue a brief statement noting that air-traffic facilities across the system are experiencing increased staffing shortages and that, when necessary, “the FAA slows traffic into some airports to ensure safe operations.”

Although the event ended without injuries or damage, aviation safety experts note that such occurrences highlight the importance of constant vigilance between flight crews and controllers—especially as staffing constraints and rising air-traffic volumes continue to test the limits of the U.S. airspace system.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, news4sanantonio.com