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Cathay Pacific is restarting flights from Cairns to Hong Kong for the first time post-COVID.
The three-times-week service will use the carrier’s Airbus A330s and operate between 17 December 2024 and 29 March 2025.
It adds to the airport’s resurging international network, which now includes Tokyo, Singapore and Auckland.
Cathay regional general manager Frosti Lau said the new route would also connect the Chinese mainland, India and the US.
“Not only is this an important route for customers travelling in and out of Tropical North Queensland, but it is also an incredibly valuable port for cargo and the trade economy,” he said.
“Cathay Pacific will support local live fish, meat and seasonal fruit exporters predominately, with expertise to manage deliveries across a range of industries.”
Queensland’s state tourism minister, Michael Healy, added that the flights would inject almost 27,000 seats over the season, carrying up to 13,000 inbound international visitors who would spend an estimated $20 million.
“It’s another win for the Miles Labor Government’s $200 million Attracting Aviation Investment Fund,” said Healy.
“AAIF has now secured 35 international routes since February 2022, delivering more than 2.27 million inbound seats and up to $2 billion in overnight visitor spending each year, supporting almost 23,000 Queensland jobs.”
It comes after Australian Aviation reported last month how Cathay Pacific is set to return to its full pre-pandemic capacity across Brisbane and Perth Airports.
Starting 28 October, the airline will increase Perth–Hong Kong services from six to 11 per week and Brisbane–Hong Kong services from six to 10 per week, with Sydney and Melbourne to retain their current four and three flights per day, respectively.
The Cathay Group, which includes low-cost subsidiary HK Express, is aiming to return to 100 per cent of global pre-pandemic capacity across its passenger network in the first quarter of 2025 and says it has reached 80 per cent as of the second quarter of this year.
The airline previously resumed daily Perth flights in February, though one of these services was later dropped.
Cairns Airport, meanwhile, will undergo up to $155 million worth of upgrades alongside Mackay after securing a loan from the federal government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF).
The loan to North Queensland Airports (NQA) will allow the first major refurbishment of Cairns’ international terminal in its approximately 30-year history, while Mackay Airport will upgrade the runway, taxiway and apron services and create a mixed retail and commercial precinct.
