Airlink facing strict deadline following stadium flyover stunt

After investigating Airlink’s 29 August extreme low-altitude flyover of Cape Town Stadium, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has given the airline until Thursday, 15 October, to respond.

The authority’s commissioner, Poppy Khoza, confirmed on Tuesday that the regulator looked into the incident after it went viral.

She confirmed that the flyover was approved and that the regulator had conducted a compliance check on the operator against its requirements.

SACAA said regulatory approvals did not necessarily mean that approved flyovers of rugby stadiums would be conducted without incident, and accidents could arise.

“SACAA engaged with the operator and required all necessary details of the flyover. SACAA has now concluded its verification process,” it said.

The airline received the regulator’s report after it concluded its flyover verification in September, after which it was given 15 days to respond and provide feedback to SACAA.

Khoza said Airlink asked for more time to respond to the SACAA report and received an extra fifteen days.

Following this, the deadline was set for Thursday, 15 October 2026, but SACAA did not indicate any specifics from the report or its conclusion.

The commissioner assured that if the Airlink investigation finds any wrongdoing, the authority would not hesitate to take corrective action against the airline.

“We are duty-bound to give the operator a right of reply, and we do things in an orderly manner as per the procedures prescribed,” she said.

“We have got to ensure that we do things the right way because the decisions of the regulator can be challenged, including in the courts.”

Khoza added that airlines have been grounded in the past when wrongdoing was found and this matter would be no different.

“We will assess Airlink’s response fairly and take appropriate action if the conclusion is that there was wrongdoing. Public safety remains our overriding priority,” she said.

Airlink’s extreme low-altitude flyover

Two Airlink aircraft participated in an extremely low-altitude flyover of the Cape Town Stadium before a Springboks versus All Blacks test match.

According to Flightradar24 data, one of the aircraft, the black Embraer E195, was just 12.5 to 14 metres above the stadium.

This was one of the lowest altitudes that the aircraft-tracking platform had ever recorded for such manoeuvres.

After videos of the flyover went viral on various social media platforms and commenters expressed concerns regarding the safety of the incident, Airlink issued a statement.

“Airlink notes the concerns expressed in various social media and online forums regarding yesterday’s formation flyby over Cape Town’s DHL Stadium,” the company said in its initial statement.

“The flight demanded careful planning and rehearsal, as it required navigating at low altitude, at around 150 knots.”

The airline noted that experienced crews piloted the two aircraft, adding that each plane was crewed by senior captains, co-pilots, and a technical officer.

Airlink reiterated that the flight data recorded by both aircraft confirmed that the flights were performed within SACAA’s approved and rehearsed safety altitude and speed limits.

“The South African Civil Aviation Authority and Air Traffic Navigation Services provided valuable guidance, approval and support to ensure a safe flyby,” the domestic carrier said.

Following its initial statement, Airlink confirmed that it would provide data from the two aircraft involved in the controversial flyover to SACAA for further review.

“Airlink, on its own initiative, has volunteered these data sets to the SACAA so it can independently review and verify the flypast,” it said.

Due to the complexity of the review process, the airline said it was unrealistic to expect immediate feedback and recommendations from SACAA, given the number of parameters and other factors to be examined.