Airlink Plans Low-Altitude Flyover Ahead of Springboks-All Blacks Match

Airlink intends to conduct a low-altitude fly-past of Cape Town’s DHL stadium on August 29, the day of the Springboks versus All Blacks rugby match. Two 98-seat Embraer-190 regional jets, painted for “rugby’s greatest rivalry,” will fly without passengers, each crewed by three senior captains, one serving as a safety/technical officer. The airline says the maneuver will follow a rehearsed flight plan approved by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).

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Low-level flyovers have become a recurring feature of South African rugby celebrations. In 1995, a South African Airways Boeing 747 crossed the Johannesburg sky during the Rugby World Cup final, and in 2024 an Emirates A380 performed a similar display a few hundred feet higher. Airlink staged a comparable flyby over Johannesburg’s Ellis Park stadium a week earlier, using the same specially painted jets.

CNN

Flight-tracking data from Flightradar 24 recorded the aircraft’s lowest altitude at roughly 46 feet above the stadium roof. The jets will operate within the speed limits set by the SACAA for the approved safety corridor. No passengers will be aboard, and the SACAA has requested the black-box recordings for its review.

CNN

The SACAA confirmed it is examining the data and has asked Airlink for additional information. South African Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie posted a light-hearted comment praising the pilots and hinting at future aerial plans.

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• “The data recorded by both aircrafts’ digital flight data recorders (black boxes) indicate that the flights were performed within the (South African Civil Aviation Authority’s) approved and rehearsed safety altitude and speed limits for the fly-past,” — Wednesday. An Airlink

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