Travellers take off on maiden Cairns to Tokyo flight

A new daily service flying intrepid travellers between Cairns and Tokyo could carry 100,000 passengers between the two cities annually. See the amazing deals on offer to mark the routes’ debut.

A new daily service flying intrepid travellers between Cairns and Tokyo could see 100,000 passengers taking to skies between the two cities annually as international travel continues its revival.

On Wednesday Virgin Australia welcomed the first travellers for the debut flight of its new Cairns to Tokyo Haneda route.

The daily direct flights are expected to draw tens of thousands of Japanese tourists to Tropical North Queensland each and every year, bolstering the region’s tourism industry and economy.

Guests travelling on the inaugural flight departed at 1.15pm, after they were farewelled with a colourful event to celebrate the occasion, complete with Japanese dancers, karaoke and bubble tea.

Virgin Australia flight attendant Sharmey Sharman, J Pop group the Melbourne Miaos dancers Minhan Huang and Hanyue Xue and Virgin Australia flight attendant Tally Walling-Scott celebrate the first Virgin Australia Cairns to Tokyo flight at the Cairns International Airport Terminal. Picture: Brendan Radke

Cairns Airport chief operating officer Garry Porter said it was ideal timing for the new direct services to commence.

“With the mild winter weather in Tropical North Queensland our region offers the perfect backdrop for visitors to enjoy our natural attractions and cultural experiences, everything the Japanese enjoy,” he said.

“It has been more than a decade since we had a full-service carrier servicing the route from Tokyo to Cairns, and that coincided with peak Japanese visitation, which is a great indication of the potential of these new flights.”

Velocity Frequent Flyer chief executive officer and Japan services representative Nick Rohrlach said the launch of the service marked an exciting milestone for Virgin Australia.

“Today marks the start of our highly anticipated services to Haneda, Tokyo, which means Australian travellers will benefit from greater value and choice when flying to Japan as we expand our international footprint,” he said.

Virgin Australia flight attendant Sharmey Sharman, J Pop group the Melbourne Miaos dancer Minhan Huang, Cairns Airport Chief Operating Officer Gary Porter, Melbourne Miaos dancer Hanyue Xue and Virgin Australia flight attendant Tally Walling-Scott celebrate the first Virgin Australia Cairns to Tokyo flight at the Cairns International Airport Terminal. Picture: Brendan Radke

“We know that Cairns has consistently ranked as one of the most popular tourist destinations among Japanese visitors to Australia and we are thrilled to unlock a new convenient gateway for Japanese travellers to explore all Far North Queensland has to offer, while injecting a welcome boost of tourism into the region.”

Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said five trade campaigns were currently underway in Japan to help rebuild the valuable market, which delivered 112,000 visitors to Cairns per year before the pandemic.

“We are excited by the travel opportunity this connection presents for people living all over Japan to see the region’s new hotels, restaurants and sustainable tourism experiences,” he said.

“Over the past week we have had 11 TTNQ members in Japan providing workshops to 300 key agents with the support of Tourism and Events Queensland.”

To coincide with the debut flight Virgin Australia dropped its “Take off for Tokyo” sale, giving travellers the opportunity to discover Tokyo from as low as $699 Economy Lite return from Cairns.

Originally published as Travellers take off on maiden Cairns to Tokyo flight