Airlink, Southern Africa’s premier airline, today revealed its latest bespoke-liveried aircraft, an Embraer E190, in a gorgeous green getup.
The newly-painted aircraft, registration ZS-YAE, made its debut this evening on a flight from Polokwane to O.R. Tambo International Airport and from tomorrow it will operate on Airlink’s main domestic and regional trunk services throughout Southern and East Africa.
“The aircraft is one of three sporting our Airlink Skybucks customer loyalty programme paint schemes. Its unveiling coincides with Airlink being named the Official Domestic Airline for the forthcoming Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry 2026 Tournament where we will fly the New Zealand and South African teams and personnel between their matches,” said de Villiers Engelbrecht, Airlink CEO.
The rugby tournament’s official logo is also displayed on both sides of the aircraft and will also soon appear on its black sistership, ZS-YDE.
Airlink’s current fleet comprises over 70 Embraer-manufactured aircraft, and together, they carry over four million passengers a year on about 250 flights every day.
A team of six specially-qualified technicians using electrostatic equipment painted the aircraft at Airlink’s new maintenance base at Polokwane’s Gateway International Airport in Limpopo Province. The base incorporates a dedicated 96m x 46m aircraft paint-shop, which has the capacity to paint up to 13 aircraft a year.
Paint by numbers
| Aircraft fuselage area painted: | 36.24m long with a 3.01m diameter and a 10.57m tail height |
| Coats: | 1 x prime and 2 x green coats |
| Paint consumed: | approx. 60 litres |
| Weight of each coat: | approx. 35kg, excluding hardener and thinners |
| Thickness of each coat: | 55 – 75 microns, i.e. less than the thickness of a human hair |
| Drying time: | about 2 hours between coats |
| Time to complete: | 29 days from start to finish, including stripping and disposing of the previous paint-scheme and preparing the aircraft for re-painting |
| How often Airlink repaints an aircraft: | every 5 – 7 years |
The paint is certified for aircraft use and imported from AERO Technique in the Netherlands to South Africa.
For aircraft enthusiasts and plane spotters, the green aircraft, ZS-YAE, will operate the following flights tomorrow (Wed, 01 July 2026). Check the popular flight tracker sites and apps for details on subsequent flights:
| Date | Flight No | Departs | Time | Arrives | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 June | 4Z 816 | Polokwane | 17h45 | OR Tambo | 18h40 |
| 01 July | 4Z 797 | OR Tambo | 10h10 | Gqeberha | 11h55 |
| 4Z 798 | Gqeberha | 12h40 | OR Tambo | 14h15 | |
| 4Z 555 | OR Tambo | 15h05 | Durban | 16h20 | |
| 4Z 556 | Durban | 17h00 | OR Tambo | 18h10 |
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