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Fiji Airways will launch flights between Cairns and Nadi next year.
The Fijian flag carrier will operate three return 737 MAX 8 services per week starting 10 April, marking the first non-stop service between Fiji and northern Queensland. It will be the airline’s sixth direct route from Australia to Fiji, adding 53,000 seats per year to the market.
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The flights, operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, will align with Fiji Airways’ schedule from Nadi to Dallas–Fort Worth, offering a connection for Far North Queensland passengers travelling to and from the US.
“Our new service to Cairns is a further step in our network expansion, providing more travel options and enhanced connectivity for our customers,” said Fiji Airways CEO André Viljoen.
“Northern Australia holds a special allure for many of our travellers, and we’re proud to bring them closer to it. This route also offers convenient onward connections from Cairns to Dallas via Nadi, making it easier than ever for travellers to access North America.”
The service will give a leg-up to tourism operators in north Queensland, said the state’s Tourism Minister Andrew Powell, with the flights expected to bring in more visitors from the US and South Pacific regions.
“They will carry up to 26,593 inbound passengers every year, generating more than $12 million per year in overnight visitor spend and creating 130 direct and indirect peak jobs,” he said.
“The flights will provide another avenue into Cairns for Fijian students and their families, and another freight route out for exports like fresh produce and seafood.
“The Queensland Government is proud to support these new services as we formulate a 20-year tourism plan to showcase Queensland’s natural beauty to the world, including the reef, rainforests, beaches and the outback.”
According to Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO Mark Olsen, North America is the second largest market for the region, with more than 101,000 visitors in the last financial year – a 74 per cent recovery on pre-COVID-19 levels.
“A one-hop service from North America to Cairns would create the potential for Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef to be the first port of arrival for more US travellers,” Olsen said.
“The new Fiji Airways flights come after substantial investment in the North American market by TTNQ with the assistance of the Federal Government’s International Tourism Recovery Program.
“To date we have launched 18 campaigns in the US and Canadian markets with seven of those completed generating more than $15 million in sales.”
Fiji Airways currently flies to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra, with the Canberra route being the first international service for the capital post-pandemic when it launched last year.
