Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's plane forced to abort its landing at Sydney airport

A plane carrying Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was forced to hastily abort its landing due to another aircraft on the runway today.

The royal couple was due to land at Sydney Airport, however, the Qantas aircraft they were flying in missed its approach when another jet was too slow to move in time.

A video uploaded to Twitter, taken by Australia-based video journalist, Simon Atkinson, shows the view from the plane's window as it makes its approach into the Australian airport and then ascends once again as the runway comes into view.

Over the tannoy on the flight from Tonga, the captain of the aircraft, Nigel Rosser, calmly explained the situation, saying: "There was an aircraft on the runway that was a little bit slow to roll, unfortunately, hadn’t cleared the runway. We were too close, so the decision was made to abort the landing. It was what we call a missed approach."

The pilot executed a manoeuvre known as a go-around, flying low enough for the passengers to see cars driving on the roads below, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex later landed safely.

Credit: Getty

Royal correspondent Rebecca English, who was on board the plane, described the incident as a "minor drama", writing on social media: "Minor drama as our Qantas charter plane – also carrying Harry and Meghan – had to pull up seconds from landing in Sydney because of another aircraft on the runway. Pilot said we were too close. What’s known as a missed approach. We had to circle and try again."

Harry and Meghan, who are expecting their first child together, are currently on their Autumn royal tour of Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga and New Zealand.

Yesterday, they received a royal welcome as they arrived in the South Pacific nation of Tonga. Greeted by a Tongan princess and hundreds of children, the pair went on to meet with the king and queen and attend an evening party.

It was announced last weekend that the former Suits star, who is due to give birth in spring, would be trimming down her royal duties on the tour due to pregnancy fatigue.

"After a busy programme, The Duke and Duchess have decided to cut back The Duchess’s slightly for the next couple of days, ahead of the final week and half of the tour," said Kensington Palace.

In addition, Prince Harry confirmed that his wife of five months was taking some time to herself just after he presented the medals at a road cycling event for the Invictus Games. Stating his wife was "resting back at home", he said: "Being pregnant takes its toll."

The couple, who have consistently charmed locals on their tour, will stay in Sydney for two nights before travelling to New Zealand.