Virgin Australia’s surprise decision to cancel a daily flight route is likely to affect around 2,000 customers.
The airline announced on Monday that it will no longer offer daily flights between Cairns and Tokyo from February 24, 2025.
Virgin Australia only introduced the Cairns-Tokyo connections in June last year.
Customers who have booked their holiday after this date will be contacted by email within the next 24 hours to arrange a refund.
Those who booked through a travel agent or third-party booking website are urged to contact those entities to request a refund and make alternative travel arrangements.
Alistair Hartley, Virgin Australia’s chief transformation and strategy officer, apologised to affected customers and claimed the service was “no longer commercially viable” after the pandemic.
“Ceasing the Cairns-Tokyo service was a difficult decision but unfortunately the recovery in inbound passenger numbers from Japan has been well below forecast and therefore operating a dedicated service to Tokyo is no longer economically viable,” he said.
“We know this is disappointing news and regret the impact this decision will have on guests who have booked travel with us from February 24, 2025.”
The decision came in response to a decline in visitor numbers from Japan to Australia – which are up to 35 percent below pre-Covid levels – and continued weakness in the Japanese yen.
For those looking to fly to Japan, Virgin will continue its partnership with All Nippon Airways (ANA) and offer up to 17 flights per week between Australia and Japan.
“We maintain a strong partnership with ANA, which enables us to continue to support inbound tourism from Japan to Australia and popular tourist destinations such as Far North Queensland,” Mr Hartley said.
“At the same time, Virgin Australia customers and Velocity Frequent Flyer members will be able to easily book ANA flights from virtually anywhere in Australia to Japan directly on our website. We will also continue to earn Velocity Points, offer award seats and loyalty benefits on eligible ANA flights.
“I would like to thank the Queensland Government for their partnership in launching our Tokyo services and their continued support of Virgin Australia as one of the largest transport providers for tourists to the Sunshine State.”
