Investigators restage Nizza approach after close call between two A320s

French investigators restaged a nighttime approach at Nice Côte d'Azur Airport in January, using an Easyjet aircraft and crew. The aim was to establish the cause of a close call between two Airbus A320s last year. The French accident investigation body BEA described the exercise in an interim update reported this week.

In September 2025, an Airbus A320 operated by Nouvelair passed only a few metres over a second Airbus A320 belonging to Easyjet that was lined up for departure. According to the account of the sequence, the Nouvelair crew had received and confirmed clearance for runway 04L but in fact flew the approach to 04R.

The Easyjet aircraft was waiting to depart for Nantes when the Nouvelair jet, arriving from Tunis, overflew it at low height and went around. The investigation has focused on the two parallel runways, 04L and 04R, and on how their different lighting might be read from the cockpit. At the time of the incident 04L was fitted with older halogen lamps, while 04R had brighter LEDs. Rain and limited visibility were also present that night.

Runway lighting at the airport had already drawn investigators' attention in a preliminary report. The BEA interim findings set out the restaged flight, which examined what influence the differing lighting of the parallel runways may have on perception from the flight deck.