Airlink has withdrawn its application for a third rugby flypast over Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium after South Africa’s Civil Aviation Authority began reviewing the airline’s low pass over Cape Town’s DHL Stadium on 29 August. The planned flyby had been set for the Springboks-All Blacks Test on 5 September, with the regulator examining flight data and other material linked to the earlier stadium display before completing its assessment.
The Cape Town sortie was the second of three flypast applications lodged by Airlink this year, following an earlier appearance over Johannesburg on 22 August. It drew scrutiny after flight-tracking data and video suggested the aircraft passed very low over the venue, with estimates placing it roughly 41 to 46 feet above the roof.
Airlink removed the Johannesburg repeat from the programme because weather forecasts pointed to conditions unsuitable for a safe formation flyby. The review by the aviation regulator is continuing, and no final finding has been issued on whether the Cape Town operation remained within all approved parameters.