NSW brothers deny terrorist plane plot

Two Sydney brothers accused of plotting to bring down an Etihad plane last year will face a NSW Supreme Court trial next March.

Khaled Mahmoud Khayat, 49, of Lakemba, and Mahmoud Khayat, 33, of Punchbowl, on Friday each pleaded not guilty to two counts of acting in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist attack.

Both counts allege the acts took place in Sydney, the first between April 13 and July 16, 2017, and the second between July 16 and July 29, 2017.

After the brothers entered their pleas via video-link from the jail where they are held on remand, Justice Peter Johnson listed their estimated six-week trial to start on March 11, 2019.

Their sibling, IS commander and Lebanese citizen Tarek Khayat, was reportedly detained earlier this year.

He allegedly directed them to smuggle a bomb hidden inside a meat grinder onto an Etihad plane due to depart from Sydney for Abu Dhabi on July 15 last year.