Singapore Airlines (SIA) has confirmed Cairns will officially become part of the SIA global passenger network from 28 March 2022, when SQ203 touches down at Cairns Airport at 17:25 local time.
Singapore Airlines will commence flights from Singapore to Cairns from the end of March to assist in Australia’s travel and tourism #ArrivalRevival.
Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, SIA’s regional wing, SilkAir, operated daily services to the Queensland holiday hotspot and gateway to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
However, with the integration of SilkAir into SIA in 2021, the route will become the sixth Australian destination in the SIA global network.
Regional Vice President South West Pacific, Mr. Louis Arul, welcomed the addition of Cairns to SIA’s Australian passenger operations and said the reinstatement of services was another sign that the recovery for international air travel was moving in the right direction.
North Queensland Airports CEO, Richard Barker, welcomed the announcement and said he was looking forward to working closely with Singapore Airlines to re-grow the region’s international visitors.
“The return of direct services from Singapore will provide vital connectivity to bring visitors from Europe, India, North-East and South-East Asia to the Cairns region, with an easy transit via Singapore Airlines Changi hub”, Mr. Barker said.
“Singapore Airlines has remained committed to our region throughout COVID, with a weekly freighter service, and the return of passenger services reaffirms the great partnership that we have developed over the past seven years”, added Mr. Barker.
SQ203/204 will be operated by Singapore Airlines’ narrow-body Boeing 737-800NG, featuring 12 Business Class and 150 Economy Class seats along with the ability to connect to the inflight KrisWorld network.
The maiden SIA flight to Cairns, SQ203, will depart Changi Airport at 08:45 local time and arrive in Cairns at 17:25 local time. The return flight will depart the following day at 18:15 local time, arriving at Changi Airport at 23:00 local time.
From Wednesday, 30 March the service will operate three times a week every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, on a turn-around basis.
The addition of the three-times-weekly service to Cairns from 28 March will bring SIA’s total number of flights from Singapore to Australian destinations to 99 a week based on SIA’s current flight schedule.
Tickets will go on sale from 10:00am AEST on Wednesday, 23 February.
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