Virgin Australia scraps daily flight service between Cairns and Tokyo’s Haneda airport

The daily Virgin Australia flight service between Cairns and Tokyo will no longer take to the skies from February 24, 2025, the airline revealed on Monday.

But tickets have already been purchased for flights on the service to Haneda Airport, in Japan’s capital, after that date — with an estimated 2000 customers now eligible for a refund, and in need of other travel arrangements.

The Australian airline said it overestimated the return of inbound visitors from Japan needed to sustain the soon-to-be-scrapped service — which was first launched in June 2023 — following the pandemic.

Current levels are down 35 per cent when compared to pre-COVID demand, which Virgin said was partially due to “sustained weakness in the Japanese Yen”.

“Operating our own service to Tokyo is no longer commercially viable,” Virgin Australia chief transformation and strategy officer, Alistair Hartley said.

“We know this is disappointing news, and we are sorry for the impact this decision will have on those guests booked to travel with us from 24 February 2025.”

Of those customers, all who booked on the official Virgin Australia website will be contacted by email within the next 24 hours to arrange a refund of their booking, Virgin Australia said.

“Customers who booked through a travel agency or third-party booking website are encouraged to contact them to request a refund and to make alternative travel arrangements.,” it said.

The airline will continue to offer up to 17 flights per week between Australia and Japan through All Nippon Airways (ANA) which can be booked directly on the Virgin Australia website.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 which currently runs the Cairns-Tokyo service will instead be used for domestic flights.