Jul 20 (nationaltribune.com.au) - Jetstar’s flights between Tokyo and Cairns take off today after nearly two and a half years, with the airline preparing to welcome thousands of visitors from Japan into tropical north Queensland each week.
While restrictions remain in place for independent tourists travelling from Australia to Japan, Japanese citizens are now able to travel freely between the two countries, driving strong demand for Jetstar’s relaunch of direct services to Cairns.
The airline will operate five return flights per week between Cairns and Narita (Tokyo), bringing more than 1,600 people into Australia from Japan every week and providing an important boost to local tourism.
The first return flight from Tokyo to Cairns, which is close to sold out, will take off on Thursday night and touch down early Friday morning.
Following today’s launch, Jetstar will resume three weekly services between Cairns and Osaka (Kansai) on 26 July, increasing to four services from September.