Cairns Airport offers strong direct links to Asian destinations and convenient access to Europe and North America via partner airline hubs, making it a vital regional airport for both travel and tourism.

Cairns Airport is located around 7 kilometers from Cairns city center and features two main passenger terminals: one for international flights and one for domestic services. It handles over 4.8 million passengers annually and offers a range of amenities, including lounges, shops, and various ground transportation options.

There are no direct flights from Cairns to Europe, but convenient one-stop routes are served daily; travelers connect via major Asian hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong, or via domestic connections in Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane. Common European destinations from Cairns include London, Paris, Rome, Istanbul, and Amsterdam, usually taking between 21 and 30 hours with one or two stops.

Cairns Airport offer convenient one-stop flights to North America. Passengers travel via connecting flights through Auckland, Fiji, Sydney, or other major Australian and Asian hubs. Airlines such as Fiji Airways, Air New Zealand, Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Singapore Airlines provide options for onward connections to destinations like Los Angeles, Vancouver, and San Francisco. The fastest one-stop journeys can take around 17 hours.

The airport provides direct international flights to several Asian destinations, including Singapore, Tokyo, and Bali. Airlines such as Jetstar and Singapore Airlines operate regular direct services. There are generally between 1 and 2 direct flights per day to Asia, with the shortest routes including Denpasar, Singapore, and Osaka. Most direct flights are typically to Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.