Following the re-introduction of direct flights to Singapore from Cairns at the end of March, Singapore Airlines will today increase the frequency from 3 flights per week to 5 per week, as demand across the world for global travel increases.
Richard Barker, Cairns Airport CEO said “When Singapore Airlines launched their Cairns services in March, it was clear they were keen to increase frequency in anticipation of the peak summer travel period in Europe. We are delighted to see an additional two services starting this week.”
SQ204 currently operates Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and from this week will also operate on Saturday and Sunday. As well as serving the Singaporean market, this flight also provides seamless connection to other destinations on the Singapore Airlines network, including London, Paris, and Frankfurt.
As well as Singapore Airlines bringing visitors to our region the services to date have also been well utilised by locals looking to travel overseas to holiday or reconnect with family and friends.
“Knowing we have Singapore Airlines’ all new 737-8 aircraft and product on the route shows a real vote of confidence from one of the world’s top airlines, and we hope to continue growing this route back to pre-pandemic levels when we had daily Singapore flights” added Richard.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said the Singapore Airlines flights to Cairns were critical for the return of international visitors to the region.
“International tourism trade representatives attending the Australian Tourism Exchange last week were hopeful the number of direct flights to Cairns would continue to increase to meet the pent-up demand in Western and Eastern markets,” he said.
“Media and travel agents from around the world have been arriving in Cairns over the past week to showcase the destination’s World Heritage areas and connectivity will be an important part of the message they take to their audiences.
“The city has also been busy with Australian conferences this month and we hope to see more inquiries from the international business events market now that we have Singapore Airlines which offers the full service demanded by that market.”
Singapore Airlines Regional Vice President Southwest Pacific, Mr Louis Arul, said SIA’s decision to increase services to Cairns ahead of the peak visitation period reinforced the airline’s commitment to Far North Queensland.
“Increasing services to Cairns, shows that leisure travel continues to recover strongly, and we are committed to supporting recovery of the tourism and travel sectors in Far North Queensland.
“We will remain nimble in our deployment of capacity to ensure we are operating the right schedules with right aircraft as demand warrants.” Mr Arul said.