The Airlink jets that roared over Cape Town Stadium before Saturday’s Springbok-All Blacks Test cleared the top of the venue by as little as 12.5m, according to flight-tracking data.
Two green Airlink Embraer E190 jets performed a spectacular low-level flyover shortly before kick-off, with TV footage making the aircraft appear dangerously close to the stadium roof.
Flightradar24 provided data indicating just how low one of the planes was.
“Earlier today, Airlink performed a pre-match flyover at DHL Stadium in Cape Town,” it posted on X.
“Our lowest recorded ADS-B altitude was 50ft at standard pressure, or approximately 205-210ft AMSL when corrected for the local QNH of 1019 hPa.
“With DHL Stadium standing about 164ft tall near sea level, that puts the aircraft roughly 41-46ft (12.5-14m) above the top of the stadium.”
The dramatic flyover continued a South African rugby tradition made famous before the 1995 World Cup final at Ellis Park, when a South African Airways Boeing 747 piloted by captain Laurie Kay swept over the stadium before the Springboks faced the All Blacks.
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Saturday’s display came before the second Test of the four-match Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, for which Airlink is the official airline.
Planning. Precision. Performance. ✈️✈️
Spectacular scenes of Airlink’s double Embraer flyover at the DHL Stadium.
Airlink is Proud Official Sponsor of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, presented by Castle Double Malt 🏉#Airlink #FlyAirlink #FlyTheLink #Skybucks #RugbysGreatestRivalry pic.twitter.com/3tPNepftLS
— Airlink (@Fly_Airlink) August 29, 2026
More video angles:
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) August 29, 2026
Another angle. As received. pic.twitter.com/1tns0aQbzZ
— Herman ⚡ (@hermux) August 29, 2026
Can’t park there pic.twitter.com/MCsMr6q9NU
— Herman ⚡ (@hermux) August 29, 2026
A view of the planes flying over the Cape Town’s DHL Stadium’s roof from the roof 😭😅 pic.twitter.com/oNCagiwKI5
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) August 30, 2026
Crédito: Link de origem