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Find cheap flights to Cairns

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Thu 18/4
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These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to Cairns
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to Cairns
In the last 7 days, travellers have searched 47 600 107 times on KAYAK, and here's why:

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Flights to Cairns - Travel Insights & Trends

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights to Cairns to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest day to fly to Cairns?

The average price of all flights to Cairns clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.
Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to Cairns is Thursday where tickets can be as cheap as R24 127. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where prices are R27 793 on average.

What is the cheapest month to fly to Cairns?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights to Cairns, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.
The cheapest month for flights to Cairns is May, where tickets cost R19 520 on average for one-way flights. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and January, where the average cost of tickets from South Africa is R35 099 and R34 326 respectively. For return trips, the best month to travel is May with an average price of R19 520.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to Cairns?

The average price for all flights to Cairns depending on the time of departure, clicked by users on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.
The cheapest time of day to fly to Cairns is generally in the afternoon, when flights cost R22 282 on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to Cairns is generally at night, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is R30 359.

How far in advance should I book a flight to Cairns?

To calculate daily average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each day before departure over the last year for flights to Cairns, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each month.
To get a below average price, you should book around 1 week before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 67 days before departure.

How long is the flight to Cairns?

The duration of your flight to Cairns depends on your departure and arrival airports. Obviously any flights that include a layover will also be longer. The most popular route to Cairns on KAYAK is from Johannesburg, which takes 34h 45m.

How many long-haul flights are there to Cairns each week?

Each week there are around 39 long-haul flights (6-12 hour flight duration), 29 medium-haul (3-6 hour flight duration) and 581 short-haul (up to 3 hour flight duration) flights to Cairns. The most long-haul flights depart from Tokyo.

Good to know

Low season

January

High season

December
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 34% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly (37% more expensive on average)

When to book flights to Cairns

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel to Cairns based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated return price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or returns with a duration up to 40 days. The information is for flights to Cairns based on your location. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs - booking Cairns flights

  • How far is Cairns from central Cairns?

    Central Cairns is 4 km away from Cairns.

  • What is the name of Cairns’s airport?

    There is only 1 airport in Cairns, called Cairns (CNS). It can also be referred to as Cairns or Cairns Intl.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights to Cairns?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights to Cairns.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket to Cairns?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Cairns is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights to Cairns?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to Cairns with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight to Cairns?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Cairns up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • Which airline offers the most flights to Cairns?

    Of the 9 airlines that fly to Cairns, Qantas Airways offers the most flights, with around 221 per week, followed by Jetstar with 161 flights per week.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Cairns

  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest Cairns flight deals.

Prefer to fly direct to Cairns?

Find which airlines fly direct to Cairns, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

South Africa to Cairns

Monday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +28 more

ANA, Air Canada, +29 more

Tuesday

ANA, Air Canada, Air China, +25 more

ANA, Air Canada, +26 more

Wednesday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +28 more

ANA, Air Canada, +29 more

Thursday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +25 more

ANA, Air Canada, +26 more

Friday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +28 more

ANA, Air Canada, +29 more

Saturday

ANA, Air Canada, Air China, +23 more

ANA, Air Canada, +24 more

Sunday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +28 more

ANA, Air Canada, +29 more

See more direct flights

Direct returns

Cairns to South Africa

Monday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +28 more

ANA, Air Canada, +29 more

Tuesday

ANA, Air Canada, Air China, +25 more

ANA, Air Canada, +26 more

Wednesday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +28 more

ANA, Air Canada, +29 more

Thursday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +25 more

ANA, Air Canada, +26 more

Friday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +28 more

ANA, Air Canada, +29 more

Saturday

ANA, Air Canada, Air China, +23 more

ANA, Air Canada, +24 more

Sunday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +28 more

ANA, Air Canada, +29 more

See more direct flights
See more direct flights

Top 3 airlines flying to Cairns

Need help choosing which airline to fly with to Cairns? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to KAYAK reviews.
8,2
Singapore AirlinesOverall score based on 1520 reviews
81comfort
84boarding
78food
83overall
87crew
82entertainment
Airline reviews

The premium economy seats were not that great. It could have been more premium than economy seats.

Read more about Singapore Airlines

The premium economy seats were not that great. It could have been more premium than economy seats.

The singapore airline now compared before covid, I like the service before covid. SQ was the best of all airlines but now I am going to look for different airline if I am travelling in asia.

A pc of cake or biscuit at least. The airport was like a maze need to take another bus to the main terminal to immigration.

Perfect experience from boarding through to leaving the flight, comfortable and personalised service from all staff, highly recommended

They close their counter so early. I had internet issues so I couldn’t check In online . I would have made the flight but their counter was closed 5 minutes before we arrived. No way of contacting them even though I had the confirmation number and tried to check in the night before on someone else’s phone. I tried calling their customer service with no pick up. Horrible experience, I’m very unhappy with them. I hope to never fly with them ever again. It costed me almost $900.

They are great with every aspect of customer service. Helped my elderly father and aided him with using the restroom.

Transfer within the same terminal and lots of facilities at the airport.

I did not like anything. Flight experience was bad overall.

Very slow check in. Food poor and some of the special meals offered were not available. Luggage then didnt arrive and still waiting for news 48 hours later

Flight attendants seemed a little more stressed out than in past Singapore flights. Not sure if that was because we had a completely full flight or if it was because it was just before Christmas. Food was decent but someone needs to update their Indian Vegetarian menus to ensure more variety, less duplication of items (Parathas included in2 different formats) and less dairy.

Newly reconfigured 380 I assume. Has a new ife with usb c ports and Bluetooth connections

Excellent airlines. I highly recommend using Emirates. Its my number 1 airlines

The individual attention the crew gives to passengers is commendable and I find them positively helpful.

Crew was not good and service was bad. Not happy

Premium economy on Emirate A380 is simply the best non-business class product. In fact its probably better than many business class if the seat isnt lying flat. The food and service is close to perfect!

For such a long flight I feel the spacing of seats could’ve been better to make it more comfortable for passengers. Very little space to move & stretch legs.

The flight was delayed in Jhb and I could have had some help in Dubai trying to get to my connecting flight to London

Check in and check out procedures Check in and onboarding was delayed by interval of 15 minutes .. total delayed by 90 minutes Bags took more than 2 hours to come out at Bali airport .. a very big wait after a 30 hour flight Bags were delayed for a very big crowd … 2 flights came in and their passengers were out sooner than ours

Pros: "Excellent care of crew to ensure social distancing is adhered at all times."
Pros: "The spirit despite the COVID19 scare. Serving on an India bound flight from the Gulf is never easy"
Cons: "We need to promote paper free boarding passes for whoever can afford. Atleast an endeavor."

Boarding was terrible - the ground staff member Fredeya at lax was more military than customer service, have never encountered a customer service representative as rude as her. Apart from that all other staff were wonderful and the flight was good.

The flight met my expectations. It left and landed on time

My bag didn’t make it but otherwise it was a great experience.

I travelled first class from LAX to MEL and it was a series of disasters which I put down to lax staff who dont care and a suck it attitude to customers - its all lip service and no delivery. The flight was delayed due to aircraft refuellers putting on 300,000 litres of fuel on a 380Q1. I entered via the first class bridge loaded my bags in the overhead locker. the lady in the next isle in first class also had hers in there as she wasn't allocated a locker over her seat. The attendant asked would I like a champagne - I said yes please. he promptly delivered a empty glass and the glass left on the desk. Then he ignored me for 20 minutes. When i asked him is he out of champagne he gave me the usual rubbish I was distracted. There are four staff and 15 first class passengers - give me a break. the glass stayed there on takeoff and then was still there 9 hours into the flight. When I arrived to my seat I told him I had eaten and wouldn't be eating on the flight - it was 10.30pm. Yet he comes by later 4am ( I happen to be awake) and says are you eating with us? I asked for the bed to be made up - they put a 3 inch 7cm mattress on the chair but as usual the break in the chair - the mattress sinks into it - so I had to move it around so I didnt get my back sunk in the V - Im 187cm tall. The cabinet next to 1K is for staff bags and the toilet is next door. I tried to avoid this seat but couldn't change - in to the flight 8 hours and the cabin rest change over kicks in - this attendant is shining his torch in my eyes taking out and returning his bag. Then the toilet starts flushing and forget trying to get to sleep. Yet no-one else needed torch! 11 hours into the 15.5 hour flight I ask for breakfast - I order two poached eggs, bacon on multigrain toast, tomatos and mushrooms. I get no bacon or toast and have to order it and the eggs are cold. Then I order a coffee which is so badly spilled - and not by air turbulence she brings back a serviette and replaces the first one rather than providing a clean dry saucer! First class in Qantas is a joke as the staff just don't get the meaning of prompt service and attention to detail. I will fly business class rather than first on Qantas as its better value for money but I have been very impressed with United First Polaris and given I fly internationally every month this is going to be my choice.

Experience was great. My only advice is to have a pasta dish on the menu. Otherwise everything was excellent.

Flights delayed multiple times, travellers requests for updates ignored. Qantas continues to desatisfy travelling basics.

Better food, hotter coffee, otherwise it was a very smooth and reasonably comfortable flight.

I find the food in business class is just old and boring, it was once good but now just trying to hard to be "on Trend" with plant based for the minority of people, while those people can order a special meal anyway, while the majority have to suffer and loose a choice. only 2 choices for entree one boring plant based and 4 for main which two were seafood, one was plant based and one meat dish.

Have watched 90% of the movies need to update more movies for the long haul

Packed flight. Urged to check carry-on before boarding only to discover numerous empty overhead bins after boarding. Challenging entertainment screen. After almost 20 minutes to arrive at baggage claim, waited over 30 mins before luggage was loaded on baggage claim carousel.

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Flights to Cairns

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Cairns (CNS)Australia

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