Direct flight from Frankfurt to Cairns being targeted, says Cairns Airport boss Richard Barker

It would take more than 17 hours but travellers could be stepping on a plane in Europe and hopping off at Cairns Airport in an exciting new travel plan for the Far North. JOIN THE CONVERSATION

TRAVELLERS could soon be stepping on a plane in Europe and hopping off at the Great Barrier Reef in an exciting new plan set to further unlock overseas markets to Cairns.

Cairns Airport chief executive Richard Barker confirmed the airport was already in discussions with Singapore Airlines about a flight passage from Frankfurt to Cairns via Singapore “as soon as the borders open”, unwrapping the lucrative German, French, Dutch and Swiss markets to the Far North.

But in a groundbreaking development, he said the ultimate goal was to establish a non-stop, direct flight from the major German hub to Cairns “if there is enough demand to support it.”

People from Cairns could soon be enjoying the market at the Roemer in Frankfurt with a flight route being discussed between the two cities, via Singapore.

A feasibility study is currently being tabled on whether passenger demand and freight services could establish the connectivity between the cities – meaning tourists aboard an Airbus A350 could soon fly between the two in a little over 17 hours.

“If there is enough demand, we can ask the question if we should start directing some marketing dollars not only to Germany, but to other markets in proximity who can hub out of Frankfurt,” he said.

“A perfect example is the Netherlands, France and Switzerland.

“We can sell the image of people being able to get on a plane in Europe and get off at the Reef.”

Qantas is currently flying non-stop from Darwin to London and while Mr Barker conceded the English capital is too far for Cairns, central Europe could prove a plentiful bounty for the Far North.

Mr Barker said they were also exploring other options from Cairns into Europe – both via Singapore and non-stop with other European carriers – but kickstarting the route out of Frankfurt “made sense” using the existing Singapore hub and ties.

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Germany is one of the most important source markets for Queensland, with 80 per cent of the country’s passengers who arrive in Australia travelling to Cairns.

“What a German is going to be able to do is buy a ticket to Cairns, and come here through Singapore without having to first go south to Melbourne or Sydney,” he said.

“So establishing direct connectivity with Frankfurt would be fantastic as it accesses not only Germany but those other countries.

“It gives us a way for Europeans to get here without having to go south, and then having to come north.”

A Singapore Airlines A380.

A Cairns–Singapore– Frankfurt route would take 22 hours, including a two hour stopover. A non-stop Cairns to Frankfurt flight would take around 17h45m.

It comes as Mr Barker and the airport ramped up efforts to rebuild the strong relationship with Japan through Jetstar and “a number of other airlines.”

“If we can get Japan back to what it was in 2019, that largely offsets the number of direct Chinese passengers that we have lost (since the pandemic),” he said.

“Japan is a really important piece of the puzzle.

“Once we can consolidate on that and with Singapore through to Europe, then we can start to explore other Asian routes.”

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Originally published as Direct flight from Frankfurt to Cairns being targeted, says Cairns Airport boss Richard Barker