Best time to beat the crowds (24% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly (24% more expensive on average)
(avg. price over the last 2 weeks)
or less
When to book flights from Sydney to Cairns
Estimated return price
Average price per month
Flight prices as travel date approaches
Top tips for finding a cheap flight out of Sydney
Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found flights on this route for $586 or less round-trip.
The cheapest flight from Sydney to Cairns was found, on average, 87 days before departure.
Book at least 4 weeks before departure in order to get a below-average price.
High season is considered to be November, December and January. The cheapest month to fly is May.
Morning departure is around 13% more expensive than an evening flight, on average*.
If you are travelling with infants or young children, there are parents rooms and baby changing facilities in both Domestic Terminals 2 and 3 of Sydney Airport (SYD).
If you’re craving a coffee on arrival in Cairns, there is a Macchinetta in the arrival area of Cairns Airport (CNS) serving coffees as well as focaccias and paninis.
A great initiative at Sydney Airport is the Airport Ambassador Program. They are volunteers who give of their time each week to give passengers a warm welcome and assist anyone needing help with finding accommodation, facilities, transport or attractions. Look out for them in their bright blue shirts.
*Average of the lowest prices shown in KAYAK’s search results for departures within the next 30 days
FAQs for booking flights from Sydney to Cairns
If you’d like to relax in comfort before your flight, there are various lounge options in the domestic terminals of Sydney Airport. Terminal 3 has Qantas Business Lounge and The Qantas Club Lounge, which are both located in the departures area, opposite Gates 4 and 5. Terminal 2 has Virgin Australia Lounge, located after security near the main security checkpoint. Please check with your airline for your eligibility to use their lounge.
There are many options to get from Sydney centre to Sydney Airport. The metro will get you to the airport from Central Station in about 15min. Be sure to get use your Opal card, if you have one, for discounted fares. You can also take a taxi or rideshare service; the cost depends on what part of Sydney you are heading to.
The airport has accessible toilets and public phones. It also has a number of hearing loops that reduce distortion and background noise for those using hearing aids. You can also request a disability-friendly taxi through the taxi concierge staff in the taxi area.
In normal times, a total of 513 direct flights connect Sydney to Cairns weekly. On average, there are 73 departures per day.
Virgin Australia (10 flights per day), Qantas Airways (10 flights per day), and Singapore Airlines (8 flights per day) are the most frequent flyers of this route.
The earliest flight leaves Sydney at 06:10 and lands in Cairns at 08:15.
The last flight leaves Sydney at 20:35 and lands in Cairns at 22:35.
All the following airlines operate direct flights between Sydney and Cairns: American Airlines, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Jetstar, LATAM Airlines, China Eastern, ANA, Air New Zealand, Qantas Airways, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, and Virgin Australia.
Japan Airlines, and Scoot offer inflight Wi-Fi service on the Sydney to Cairns flight route.
The Boeing 737-800 Passenger/BBJ2 (winglets) is the aircraft model that flies most regularly on the Sydney to Cairns flight route.
oneworld, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam are the airline alliances operating flights between Sydney and Cairns, with oneworld being the most commonly used for this route.
There are direct flights from Sydney to Cairns on a daily basis.
KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Sydney to Cairns.
KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Cairns from Sydney is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.
Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional return ticket. You could then fly to Cairns with an airline and back to Sydney with another airline.
Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Cairns from Sydney up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.