Jetstar Airways will reconnect Cairns (CNS) with Japan after more than two years by restoring two non-stop services to Tokyo (NRT) and Osaka (KIX), this represents the post-pandemic international flight recovery phase of the North Queensland region. The Qantas Group low-cost airline’s last operation in the Japanese nation was in March 2020.
On July 20, flight JQ 25 was operated on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner registered VH-VKI, the aircraft took off from Cairns Airport (CNS) at 12:47 local time and landed at Narita International Airport (NRT) at 18:55, with this service Qantas Group is once again operating between Australia and Japan.
WELCOME BACK JAPAN 🇯🇵 | The first direct flight to Narita (Tokyo) with @JetstarAirways departed Cairns earlier today, marking a significant milestone in our region's international travel recovery ✈️
Read more: https://t.co/p5e2VP60iv
📸 https://t.co/IFga2lKrZx pic.twitter.com/pVURLqHAOM
— Cairns Airport (@cairns_airport) July 20, 2022
While restrictions still apply to individual travelers from Australia to Japan, Japanese citizens can now travel freely between the two countries, creating strong demand for the resumption of Jetstar’s non-stop flights to Cairns.
Flight Itinerary
- Cairns – Tokyo Narita Flight JQ 25 CNS 11:10 – NRT 17:40 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
- Tokyo Narita – Cairns Flight JQ 26 NRT 20:15 – CNS 04:35 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The flights will be operated on Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft with a capacity of 335 seats in two classes (21 Business Class/314 Economy).
Data obtained by Aviacionline through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development indicate that between June 2018-2019 between Cairns and Tokyo moved 173,090 passengers and 771, 3 tons of cargo.
“Australia has always been a popular destination for Japanese travelers, and we are excited to be able to reconnect the two countries, providing a significant tourism boost to the local Cairns and wider Queensland community,” said Gareth Evans, CEO of Jetstar Group.
“Japan has also always been a popular destination for Australians, and we look forward to receiving an announcement from the Japanese government on the easing of international restrictions, which will allow round-trip travel between the two countries,” Evans added.
In addition, from July 26 the airline resumes operations between Cairns and Kansai International Airport (KIX) with three flights a week operated on Boeing 787-8s.
Flight Itinerary
- Cairns – Osaka Kansai Flight JQ 15 CNS 12:25 – KIX 18:55 Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
- Osaka Kansai – Cairns Flight JQ 16 KIX 21:05 – CNS 05:15+1 Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
Prior to the pandemic between Cairns and Osaka 123,111 passengers and 318.5 tonnes of cargo were moved.
“The Japanese market is incredibly important to our region, and the resumption of these Jetstar services is symbolic of how far our aviation and tourism industries have progressed since our COVID recovery phase began,” said Garry Porter, chief operating officer at Cairns Airport.
“We know that Tropical North Queensland is a highly sought-after destination for visitors from Japan and we expect to see a good injection of tourists due to these flights, and as confidence around international travel continues to grow,” Porter added.
Japan is one of Jetstar Airways’ main international markets. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the low-cost aircraft carried 443,870 passengers with an occupancy factor of 79.95% and 1,964.3 tons of cargo on 1,658 air operations between Australia and Japan.
See also: Qantas announces new flights to South Korea and India
