Emirates took to the skies above South Africa to perform the country’s first-ever flypast with an Airbus A380, becoming the first international airline to do so.   

The flight occurred on September 1, 2024, with the world’s largest commercial passenger aircraft flying at an altitude of just 500 feet above the Emirates Airline Park, right before the start of the rugby test match between South Africa’s Springboks and New Zealand’s All Blacks. The aircraft greeted 62,000 rugby and aviation fans who had gathered to see the game. 

The aircraft took off from O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) at 16:00 local time and, traveling at a speed of 140 kts (259.28 km/h), arrived at the stadium at 16:58 local time, just as the South African and New Zealand national anthems were about to commence.  

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