Fiji Airways has launched its inaugural direct flight from Nadi International Airport (NAN) to Cairns Airport (CNS) on April 10, 2025.
Flight FJ 971 departed Nadi at 09:08 local time, 30 minutes behind schedule. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft touched down in Cairns at 11:43 local time, after a flight time of just over four hours.
Cairns Airport called the new service a “game changer” and the flight was welcomed with traditional Fijian dancers leading the celebrations.
The year-round, three-times weekly flights will change the way Queenslanders fly to North America, as the Fijian flag carrier offers a one-stop connection from Cairns to its destinations in the US and Canada: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW), and Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
This means that people from parts of Queensland and Cairns will no longer have to fly to another Australian port to connect to North America, saving nearly three hours of travel time.
“Critically, this route aligns with Fiji Airways’ Dallas-Fort Worth schedule, operating on the same days, with a perfect and time-efficient connection via Nadi,” said Cairns Airport Chief Executive Officer Richard Barker.
“This fast, one-stop connectivity to North America is a game changer. Destinations such as Los Angeles and San Francisco are now just 16 hours away, slashing nearly three hours of travel time and eliminating the need for additional stops in other Australian ports,” Barker added.
Fiji Airways’ new direct flights from Cairns to Nadi (starting April 2025) make world-class medical services accessible! PSH Hospitals, near Nadi Airport, offers advanced care at a fraction of Aussie costs.
— Pacific Tourism Organisation (@PacTourismOrg) February 9, 2025
Read here for more: https://t.co/fwUKuzqLlg#OursIsYours #FijiAirways pic.twitter.com/D5t2dSav4Q
The new direct service is also expected to boost medical tourism in Fiji. The Fijian government has been pushing the island nation to become a premier medical tourism hub.
Hospitals near Nadi Airport such as the 130-bed Pacific Specialist Healthcare offer medical procedures such as open heart surgeries for a fraction of the cost in Australia.
The Fijian government encourages foreign investment in medical facilities in Nadi by providing tax breaks for hospital infrastructure, and allowing duty-free entry for specialized medical equipment.
The new Nadi-Cairns route will play a role in furthering this goal by providing another option for patients/ passengers, and medical equipment to be transported.
Cairns Airport said that the service will inject 53,000 seats into the market each year and generate an estimated AU$62 million (US$38.4 million) boost to the Cairns economy over the first three years.