Virgin Australia has announced it will cease operating its once daily flight between Cairns and Tokyo, Haneda from 24 February 2025 as a result of factors including the slow recovery of inbound visitors from Japan, which is up to 35 per cent below pre-COVID levels
The airline first launched its Cairns-Tokyo, Haneda services in June 2023. However, a below forecast recovery of visitors travelling from Japan to Australia due to sustained weakness in the Japanese Yen, has impacted demand for the services, rendering the route commercially unsustainable.
Virgin Australia Chief Transformation and Strategy Officer, Alistair Hartley apologised to impacted customers. “Our international network continues to be a central part of our strategy. Withdrawing from Cairns-Tokyo services was a tough decision, but unfortunately the recovery of inbound visitors from Japan is significantly below forecast and therefore operating our own service to Tokyo is no longer commercially viable.