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Cairns Airport (CNS)
Departures from Cairns Airport (CNS) at a glance
- 81flights a day7th busiest of 111 airports
- 22routes from here
- 7airlines
- 07:00 – 20:50first and last
Collected between 11 October 2026 and 12 October 2026. Not live — check with the airline before booking.
Cairns Airport (CNS) in Far North Queensland has two passenger terminals: Terminal 2 (T2), the Domestic Terminal, and Terminal 1 (T1), the International Terminal. A covered walkway links them, and you follow the yellow line to walk between the two. Check the terminal for your flight before you set off.
Terminal areas close each day after the last flight: departure areas after the last departure and arrival areas after the last arrival. They reopen daily in line with flights.
The two terminals at Cairns Airport
Both terminals are part of a security controlled airport. The Australian Federal Police keep a 24-hour presence landside, airside and in the terminals.
Check-in and security screening at Cairns Airport
In the Domestic Terminal, check-in is on the Departures side, to the left, at an airline counter or a self-service kiosk. The airport's domestic departures page recommends arriving at least one hour before your flight if you are checking in luggage and 30 minutes with carry-on only. Your airline's own check-in cut-off is the one that applies, so check with your airline before you travel.
Screening uses a metal detector, an x-ray of your carry-on bags and random explosive trace detection. Laptops and tablets can stay in your bag unless screening staff ask you to take them out.
If you are frisk searched, you can ask for a private room and an officer of the same gender. Refusing screening means you cannot go through to the gate or take your flight.
Liquids on domestic flights from Cairns Airport
On domestic flights, liquids, aerosols and gels can go in your cabin bag and do not have to be separated, apart from aerosols, which are taken out for screening and need a lid. The 100 ml limit applies to international passengers. For the current list of permitted items, the airport refers travellers to TravelSECURE.
Getting to and from Cairns Airport
| Option | Domestic Terminal (T2) | International Terminal (T1) |
|---|---|---|
| Taxi | Sheltered rank at the front of the terminal | Sheltered rank at the front of the terminal |
| Rideshare pick-up | Outside Domestic Arrivals, at the northern end of the terminal | Outside International Arrivals, at the eastern end |
| Rideshare drop-off | Outside the Domestic Check In area | Outside the International Check In area |
| Public car parks | T2 Domestic Covered, T2 Domestic Uncovered | T1 International Covered, T1 International Uncovered |
Taxis at Cairns Airport
Cairns Taxis, which the airport describes as the only regulated taxi service for the Cairns Region, serves a sheltered rank at the front of each terminal. Taxis cannot be pre-booked from the terminals, but the Cairns Taxis call centre monitors the ranks 24/7 and there are free intercom call buttons at the start of each rank.
Cairns Taxis runs sedans and station wagons for up to four passengers, maxi taxis for up to 10 and wheelchair-capable vehicles, door to door across the Cairns taxi district. That district covers the city centre and the coast between Ellis Beach in the north and Wrights Creek, Edmonton, in the south. A ground access charge applies to taxi pick-ups at the airport and is paid to the driver.
Rideshare and the Standby Zone
Rideshare has its own pick-up and drop-off areas at both terminals, shown in the table above. Someone collecting you can wait free in the Standby Zone for up to 30 minutes: follow the orange Standby Zone signs, and the driver has to stay in the vehicle.
If the Standby Zone is full, the airport sends drivers to the T2 Domestic Uncovered car park or a T1 public car park, where the first 10 minutes are free. Once you have your bags, meet the car at the public pick-up zone at the front of T1 or T2.
Parking at Cairns Airport
The public car parks are T1 International Covered, T1 International Uncovered, T2 Domestic Covered and T2 Domestic Uncovered. T2 Domestic Covered is the closest to T2 arrivals, a one to two minute walk, and the first 10 minutes are free in each car park. The airport describes the covered car parks as cyclone-rated.
You can pre-book online, or enter and leave with Tap, Park & Go using a Visa, Mastercard or American Express card. Pay stations are at the T2 Covered Car Park service kiosk walkways and beside the T1 taxi rank, and Wilson Parking staff answer the car park intercoms.
The car parks take vehicles up to 4.9 metres long and 1.9 metres wide, with a height limit of 4.0 metres in T2 Covered, T2 Uncovered and T1 Uncovered, and 2.5 metres in T1 Covered. Larger vehicles, and anything towing a trailer, caravan or float, have to use other transport and can be fined for parking in prohibited areas. Mobility-impaired parking is provided in each public car park.
Shuttle buses and car hire
Private shuttle bus operators also serve the airport, and you book directly with each operator. The airport's transport page lists car hire.
Wifi, lounge, trolleys and help in the terminals
Wifi is free: select "Airport Free Wifi" in your device's wifi settings. The Qantas Club Lounge is on Level 1 of the T2 Departures Lounge. After security, turn left towards Gate 20, turn left again up the escalator, and turn right at the top.
Luggage trolleys at T2 arrivals and departures are charged for and take cash only, while trolleys in the T1 arrivals baggage claim area are free. A Baggage Storage Room takes larger items, and TLC Airport Luggage Services handles group porterage and luggage transfers if you book in advance.
Airport Ambassadors move around the terminal to help with transport options, directions and destination information, and Chinese Liaison Officers are available for translation. Each terminal has kerbside drop-off and pick-up areas for vehicles displaying a disability permit, and the vehicle must not be left unattended.
Direct domestic flights recorded from Cairns Airport
Direct domestic flights recorded from Cairns Airport go to the places below. The airlines are Jetstar, Qantas, Virgin Australia, Airnorth, Alliance Airlines, Rex and Skytrans.
Biosecurity and alcohol rules on routes from Cairns
Western Australia (WA) and South Australia each set their own rules on food, plants and animal products brought in from interstate, and each rule applies when you land in that state. Goods leaving the Torres Strait for the mainland are controlled too, and some Queensland communities limit the alcohol you can bring in.
Flying from Cairns to Perth (Western Australia)
Quarantine WA requires quarantine risk material to be declared to a Quarantine Inspector on arrival. When you land in Perth, if you are unsure about an item, declare it or put it in one of the bins, and inspectors with sniffer dogs may check your bags as you collect them from the carousel.
Quarantine WA's permitted list includes pineapple, peeled and diced watermelon, carrots and coconut, each free of sprouting green growth, soil, pests and disease. Honey is prohibited unless it is certified on a Health Certificate. Quarantine WA says its entry requirements can change after pest and disease outbreaks, so check with it on (08) 9334 1800 before you pack food.
Flying from Cairns to Adelaide (South Australia)
South Australia requires fruit and vegetables at risk from fruit fly to be eaten or disposed of before you enter the state. Its table for travellers from Queensland, on a page updated on 7 May 2026, does not allow avocado, fresh fruit, fruiting vegetables such as capsicum, chilli, eggplant, tomato and tamarillo, soil, citrus plants, or grapevines, cuttings and budwood.
From Queensland it allows pineapple, leafy vegetables, root vegetables free of soil with the tops removed, onions and garlic, and processed, dried, cooked, frozen or canned fruit and vegetables, among other items. For melons, cucumber, pumpkin, zucchini, honey, cut flowers, and house plants and pot plants, the table says to call the Fruit Fly Hotline on 1300 666 010, which answers 24 hours a day.
Coming back from Horn Island (Torres Strait)
Horn Island (Ngurupai) is in the Torres Strait Permanent Biosecurity Monitoring Zone. Fresh fruit and vegetables, live animals and plants, soil, meat or dairy products other than canned items, and poultry products can only be moved from the Torres Strait to the mainland with a permit.
Goods that need a permit must not be taken onto the mainland without one, and you can surrender them to a biosecurity officer. To ask about moving goods from the Torres Strait, contact the Thursday Island office on (07) 4212 0185.
Taking alcohol to Bamaga and other Queensland communities
The Northern Peninsula Area restricted area covers Bamaga, Injinoo, New Mapoon, Seisia and Umagico, and includes the Bamaga/Injinoo Airport. As of July 2026, the limit per person, or per vehicle, boat or aircraft, is 2 litres of unfortified wine with either 11.25 litres of beer of any strength or 9 litres of premixed spirits up to 5.5% alcohol by volume. Penalties apply for possessing illegal alcohol in the restricted area.
Alcohol restrictions also apply in other Queensland communities, and in some of them alcohol is banned completely. Before you fly with alcohol to a remote community, check its entry on the Queensland Government's list of community alcohol restrictions.
Daylight saving on flights from Cairns
Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not observe daylight saving. New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory do.
Check the local time at your destination when you arrange a connection or a pick-up.
Recent upgrades at Cairns Airport
T1 has had its first major upgrade since the building opened in 1990: construction started in April 2023 and was completed at the end of 2025. The airport's T1 upgrade page said new shops and places to eat would follow.
The T2 upgrade was completed in 2020, after a runway overlay, and was funded by North Queensland Airports and its retail partners. It added an interactive play screen for children, an upgraded Parenting Room and a Quiet Room for passengers with hidden disabilities.
Questions about Cairns Airport
Which terminal is the Domestic Terminal at Cairns Airport?
T2 is the Domestic Terminal and T1 the International Terminal. A covered walkway links them, and you follow the yellow line between the two. Check the terminal for your flight before you travel.
How early should I get to Cairns Airport for a domestic flight?
The airport's domestic departures page recommends arriving at least one hour before your flight if you are checking in luggage and 30 minutes with carry-on only. Its FAQ says most domestic airlines want you at the check-in counter at least 45 to 60 minutes before departure, so use the check-in cut-off your airline gives for your booking. In the Domestic Terminal, check-in is on the Departures side, at an airline counter or a self-service kiosk.
Can I pre-book a taxi from Cairns Airport?
Not from the terminals. Go to the sheltered Cairns Taxis rank at the front of your terminal, where free intercom call buttons connect to the Cairns Taxis call centre.
Where can someone wait to pick me up at Cairns Airport?
In the Standby Zone, free for up to 30 minutes, with the driver staying in the vehicle. When you have your bags, meet them at the public pick-up zone at the front of T1 or T2.
Can I take liquids through security at Cairns Airport on a domestic flight?
Yes. On domestic flights, liquids, aerosols and gels can go in your cabin bag without being separated, apart from aerosols, which are taken out for screening and need a lid. For the current list of permitted items, the airport refers travellers to TravelSECURE.
Can I take fruit on a flight from Cairns Airport to Perth or Adelaide?
For Perth, Quarantine WA has a list of permitted fruit and vegetables that includes pineapple, and asks you to declare anything you are unsure of or put it in the bins when you land. For Adelaide, South Australia's table for travellers from Queensland does not allow fresh fruit but lists pineapple as allowed, and fruit at risk from fruit fly has to be eaten or disposed of before you enter the state. Each state sets its own list, so check the one for the place you are landing.
Is there free wifi at Cairns Airport?
Yes. Select "Airport Free Wifi" in your device's wifi settings.