Tokyo flights to take-off

l CAIRNS

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Dalton

VIRGIN Australia flights between Cairns and Tokyo-Haneda Airport have been launched in Japan.

Queensland Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe, Tourism Australia and Tourism Tropical North Queensland joined Virgin Australia at Tokyo-Haneda Airport for the launch earlier this week.

The year-round, daily services from Tokyo-Haneda take off from June 28 and are predicted to land more than 30,000 visitors from Japan in Cairns during the first year of operation.

Tickets from about $1216.58 return are on sale. It’s estimated Virgin Australia’s direct flights to Cairns will generate $69.5 million for Tropical North Queensland’s visitor economy and support 680 good Queensland jobs.

The flights have been secured by the Palaszczuk government’s $200m Attracting Aviation Investment Fund (AAIF) in partnership with Cairns International Airport.

Member for Cairns Michael Healy said “this is fantastic news for Cairns and Tropical North Queensland tourism operators as we continue to rebuild our international visitor economy”.

“Virgin Australia’s direct services to Cairns from Tokyo-Haneda make it even easier for Japanese visitors to enjoy our unique, world-class tourism experiences and great hospitality,” he said.

Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the launch was “another example of the Palaszczuk government’s $200 million aviation war chest fast-tracking direct international flights to Queensland destinations and driving tourism recovery.”

Virgin Australia chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka said the airline was proud to be the first airline to offer direct services between Haneda, Tokyo and Cairns from June 28.

“The daily, year-round services will bring much needed competition to the market while showcasing Virgin Aus-