flying into cairns, queensland, australia

Cairns, a city situated on the stunning north-east coast of Australia, lies just 15 degrees south of the equator.

With a population of approximately 160,000 individuals as per the 2021 Census, this vibrant region embraces a tropical monsoon climate that ensures warmth throughout the year.

Upon stepping outside the air-conditioned confines of the Cairns International Airport terminal, the immediate embrace of the tropical air serves as a gentle reminder that you have entered a truly remarkable destination.

As you make your way from the airport towards the heart of the city, you may find yourself questioning whether you have arrived in an urban metropolis at all, as your initial encounter with Cairns unfolds amidst the captivating embrace of a natural landscape adorned with lush mangrove forests.

Note: If you’re travelling to Port Douglas you’ll need to fly into Cairns Airport then take a shuttle bus / limo / taxi to Port Douglas. Check out the airport transfer options here.

Disclaimer

Coffee in Cairns presents the following flight information for the benefit of travellers to Tropical North Queensland.

Please be aware that although we try to keep the information as current as possible, flights and visa rules can often change.

Always check directly through airline and government websites for the most accurate and current information.

This page last updated on 2 Feb 2024.

International Direct Flights to Cairns

Cairns (CNS), Australia is reached by direct flights from:

• Tokyo (NRT)

• Tokyo (HND)

• Osaka (KIX)

• Singapore (SIN)

• Denpasar (DPS)

• Port Moresby (POM)

• Auckland (AKL) - seasonal flights only

• Shanghai (PVG) - seasonal flights only (Chinese New Year 2024)

Flight News - Cairns Airport

China to Cairns Direct

China Eastern Airlines began Lunar New Year flights direct from Shanghai to Cairns on 1st February 2024. 10 flights will operate until 18th February.

South America to Cairns (CNS)

After a 30 month hiatus Qantas resumed (31 Oct 2022) their direct connection between Santiago de Chile and Sydney, Australia.

Santiago (SCL) to Sydney (SYD) is just a 13.5-hour hop across the Pacific, flying on Qantas’ Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Qantas codeshare with Chilean airline LATAM, offering non-stop flights between Sydney and Melbourne to Santiago, and one-stop flights between Sydney and Santiago via. Auckland.

Note. Sydney to Cairns is a popular route (3-hour flight) serviced by Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia.

Singapore (SIN) - Direct Flights to Cairns (CNS), Australia

SQ203 arrived on a direct flight from Singapore to Cairns on 28th March 2022, the first direct service from Singapore in two years.

Through the Singapore Airlines network Cairns now has connections with Europe, North America, South Korea, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Check and book direct with Singapore Airlines.

Denpasar (DPS), Bali, Indonesia - Direct Flights to Cairns (CNS), Australia

Jetstar run between Denpasar and Cairns with direct flights.

Flight duration from Cairns to Bali is 4 hours 50 minutes and on the return leg from Bali to Cairns, 4 hours and a half, with a tail wind : )

• JQ90 Airbus A320 CNS DPS

• JQ91 Airbus A320 DPS CNS

  See below re. Cairns + Bali holiday

Port Moresby (POM), Papua New Guinea - Direct Flights to Cairns (CNS), Australia

Air Niugini connect Cairns with direct flights

From Bali, fly direct to Port Moresby with Indonesian Airline Citilink https://www.citilink.co.id/en

Japan - Direct Flights to Cairns (CNS), Australia

Jetstar resumed direct flights to Cairns from Tokyo on 20 July 2022 after a pause lasting over 2 years.

Flights from Kansai International Airport (Osaka) resumed on 26th July 2022.

Virgin Australia joined the Japan route on 28 June 2023, with direct flights from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) to Cairns (CNS).

https://newsroom.virginaustralia.com/

Air New Zealand and Qantas

From Los Angeles (LAX) fly to Brisbane (BNE) with Qantas and then take a short domestic flight up to Cairns.

Air New Zealand connect Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland to Brisbane with direct flights.

Air New Zealand’s seasonal Auckland (AKL) to Cairns (CNS) direct flights resumed on 5th July 2022.

Travellers can now fly from San Francisco or Los Angeles to Cairns, Australia via. an Auckland, New Zealand stopover.

Qantas fly to Sydney from London, Rome, Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Dallas, New York, Bangkok, Singapore, Manila, Hong Kong, Bali, Jakarta, Seoul, Tokyo, Delhi, Vancouver, Johannesburg, Nadi, Nuku’alofa, Apia, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown, Santiago.

New route:

Shanghai to Sydney (from 29 October 2023)

Check with Qantas for details ..

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/qantas-experience/international-flight-network.html

https://www.airnewzealand.com.au/flights/en-au/flights-from-auckland-to-cairns

San Francisco to Australia

United Airlines fly direct from San Francisco to Sydney and Melbourne.

Air New Zealand and United Airlines code share on the SFO to AKL route.

Australia Visa Info.

• The state of Queensland in Australia re-opened its borders to international travellers from 22nd January 2022.

• Check visa information here.

Auckland to Cairns direct

• Flight time 5 hours 50 minutes

• Air New Zealand

• Seasonal flights (winter in Cairns!)

London to Australia

Qantas are back on track now, having resumed its direct London to Perth flights and now zooming into Sydney from London, via. Singapore.

The flights to Sydney are QF2 from Heathrow (LHR) and out of Australia the flight is QF1. It’s otherwise known as the kangaroo route!

Qantas suspended Perth to London flights in October 2021 in favour of transitting Darwin on its flagship kangaroo route.

Until 1 March 2022, the London-Darwin route crossed the Baltic Sea, up and over Russia, Mongolia, China and then across the seas of South China, Celebes and Timor to the top of Australia.

This route was changed to avoid overflying Russia and took a longer journey via. Central Europe and the Middle East.

North America to Australia

Currently, there are no direct flights from North America to Cairns.

Consider flying internationally into Cairns Airport via Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, or New Zealand.

Domestic flights connect Cairns with the North American entry points of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The flight from Brisbane to Cairns takes just under 2 and a half hours, while flying from Sydney adds a little more time at 3 hours and 10 minutes.