New Tokyo Haneda to Cairns Virgin Australia service to commence June 2023
The Queensland Government and industry’s $200 million Attracting Aviation Investment Fund has landed its first Cairns Airport deal with Virgin Australia to start daily year-round Tokyo Haneda Airport to Cairns service from 28 June 2023.
The reopening of the Japanese market and Japan’s lifting of travel restrictions was crucial in getting the Virgin Australia service underway.
Japan is an important market for Queensland.
Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, Japan represented the third largest market by expenditure and the fourth by visitation to Queensland with some 219,000 visitors from Japan generating $459.7 million in the year to December 2019.
The Virgin Australia service each year is estimated to deliver more than 30,000 visitors to Queensland, generate $69.5 million in overnight visitor expenditure and provide 680 direct and indirect jobs.