FLYING Magazine
Reactions to a viral low flyover at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, on Saturday—which the airline responsible for the stunt said was conducted with approval from the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)—have ranged from praise to condemnation.
Videos shared by attendees of the match between South Africa’s Springboks, the country’s national rugby team, and the All Blacks, represented by New Zealand, collectively garnered millions of views after being amplified on social media websites.
Aviators and other observers debated the safety and merits of the flyover. British newspaper The Times reported that more than 56,000 fans attended the match, noting that flyovers have been a tradition at South African rugby fixtures since the 1990s.
SACAA did not immediately respond to FLYING’s request for comment on the flyover.
Just in: Airlink Embraers flew dangerously low over DHL Stadium in Cape Town
Video was backed by FlightRadar 24 data, which hinted they were as low as 50 ft AGL
Source Reddit @aero_in pic.twitter.com/uBkQpQ9hfF
— Francisco Cunha –
Aviation et al (@OnDisasters) August 29, 2026
Per FlightRadar24’s analysis of the flight paths, the lead aircraft—an Embraer E195 registered as ZS-YDE and painted in dark livery for the All Blacks—at one point passed less than 50 feet over the stadium.
It calculated that the jet was at an altitude of 205 to 210 feet msl, based on a lowest recorded ADS-B altitude of 50 feet adjusted for local air pressure and elevation. DHL Stadium stands about 164 feet above ground level, giving the aircraft an estimated 41 to 46 feet of clearance, FlightRadar24 estimated.
The other aircraft, an E190 registered as ZS-YAE and painted in dark green for the Springboks, flew through a plume of colored smoke as it passed over the stadium.
“Planning. Precision. Performance,” Airlink, a regional carrier based in Johannesburg, wrote in social media posts on Saturday. “Spectacular scenes of Airlink’s double Embraer flyover at the DHL Stadium.”
In June, videos of a Boeing 777-200LR conducting an extremely low pass in Texas similarly went viral and drove debate about aviation safety. In July, eight AH-64 Apache pilots with the South Carolina Army National Guard were suspended and reinstated after flying low over a crowded beach.
Impressive or Irresponsible?
Airlink on Sunday responded to “concerns expressed in various social media and online forums” via a statement reproduced by the South African Government News Agency.
The airline said the flyover required “careful planning and rehearsal” and that the jets flew at about 150 knots. It said the SACAA and South African Air Traffic & Navigation Services “provided valuable guidance, approval and support” and that each aircraft had a three-person crew comprising a commander, copilot, and safety or technical officer.
“The flight data recorded by both aircraft confirms that the flights were performed within the SACAA’s approved and rehearsed safety altitude and speed limits for the flypast,” Airlink said.
According to The Times, Airlink said it will ask officials to examine the jets’ data recorders independently to “review and verify that the flypast was in accordance with the flight authorisation.” It reportedly said that the flight plan was identical to that of a flyover in Johannesburg the previous week. Airlink is expected to conduct another flyover at Johannesburg’s FNB stadium this coming weekend.
“As far as I understand, the flypast was well executed, and the pilots were 100 percent happy that everything was under control,” said Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus, according to News24 South Africa. “It looked incredible.”
Not all observers agreed. Greg Bagwell, president of the U.K. Air & Space Power Association and a former senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF), said Saturday’s stunt was “much lower than previous flypasts” at South African rugby matches.
“Previous flypasts have been low, but not this low,” Bagwell wrote in a thread on X. “Was this flypast given lower authorisation than previous ones?”
The former RAF commander criticized the vagueness of Airlink’s statement, which did not mention the flyover’s planned or actual altitude.
“I’m not sure that we should take the [airline’s] PR post as the gospel truth, especially as it keeps some of the parameters unsaid,” he wrote.
Bagwell questioned whether the normalization of low flyovers at rugby matches could lead to future accidents.
“Flypasts are spectacular, but that should be for the right reasons and done responsibly,” he said.
Scottish pilot and author Scott Bateman, who often comments on aviation safety via his social media accounts, said he and other professional pilots were “aghast” after watching video of the stunt.
“Sometimes, even when something was legal, authorised and went exactly as planned, we still ask…Was that really a good idea?” Bateman wrote in a lengthy post on X. “That isn’t negativity. It isn’t disrespect. And it certainly isn’t an attack on South African aviation. It’s mature safety culture.”
Bateman said professional pilots are sometimes criticised as the “flypast fun police.” But he argued that questioning potentially unsafe practices is what has allowed aviation to grow into a pastime beloved by many.
“We’re not trying to take the spectacle out of aviation,” Bateman said. “Quite the opposite in fact. We’re trying to make sure everyone gets to enjoy it again tomorrow.”
Some South African officials derided online criticism of the flyover. Dean Macpherson, South Africa’s Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, said Sunday that he watched the low pass over DHL Stadium in person and that the country’s pilots are the “best and most skilled…in the world.”
“Laughable to see ‘aviation experts’ going on about the Airlink flyover,” Macpherson said in another post on Sunday. “You don’t see headlines about our pilots being drunk and disorderly like you do in other countries. We are just fine here in South Africa.”
Macpherson added that he is “looking forward” to Airlink’s next flyover at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium and in subsequent posts said he hoped it would include the carrier’s “entire fleet.”
“That would be amazing and drive the internet even more crazy,” he said.
Gayton McKenzie, South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture, also dismissed the safety concerns, adding, “It’s a well known fact that we have the best pilots in the world, that was spectacular, next time I will ask the pilots to land on the field, prepare to be amazed further.”
Airlink is a sponsor of matches between the Springboks and All Blacks. The Athletic reported that the airline is flying players, coaches, and management and support staff for both teams.