Footage has captured a Jetstar flight taxiing on the runway of Sydney Airport with its cargo door wide open yesterday morning.

Jetstar flight 456 was set for Ballina before the pilots were alerted by a cockpit warning light and returned to the gate safely.

“It’s horrific,” Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Michael Kaine said.

“This is what happens when the workforce is stretched beyond limits.”

Jetstar said: “We are currently investigating how this could have happened and are working with our ground handler to ensure it does not happen again.”

After Qantas sacked its baggage handlers, Swissport was one of the companies brought in by the major airline.

This year, the union surveyed 300 Swissport workers in Australia and said 73 per cent claimed they were pressured to work unsafely.

“They are under so much time pressure, they are poorly paid, highly casualised. All of that adds up to a deadly recipe,” a Transport Workers Union spokesperson said.

Swissport has been approached for comment but has not responded.