For the first time, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) aircraft will take part in the National Day flypast.

To mark Singapore's 50th birthday, an SIA Airbus 380 will take to the skies in a special livery, featuring a 10m-tall and 47m-long Singapore flag-themed design on both sides of the fuselage.

The plane with the official SG50 logo on the inboard engines and the NDP 2015 "Majulah Singapura - Our Golden Jubilee" logo on the underside will make its flypast over the Marina Bay area at the close of the Vintage Parade segment of the show. The event will also feature 20 SIA Girls on trishaws, reminiscent of famous SIA advertisements of the past, the airline said yesterday. The public will be able to view the A-380, the world's largest passenger aircraft, in the aerial flypast for the first time during today's preview show.

SIA's chief executive officer, Mr Goh Choon Phong, said the airline's success is "closely linked to that of Singapore and, like all Singaporeans, we look forward to celebrating the nation's birthday".

"We are honoured to be participating in the National Day Parade during Singapore's Golden Jubilee year," he said.

SIA will have two aircraft in the special livery through the end of this year, serving Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai, Sydney and Zurich.

Mr Nigel Choo, a 22-year-old undergraduate, said: "I'm excited to see such a big aircraft featured this time round. I'm sure it's going to look amazing!"

•Additional reporting by Madeleine Lim