General News
12 December, 2025
Seoul aim
AN Amway incentive program involving nearly 3000 delegates flying to Cairns on 20 charter flights from Korea has laid the foundations for more services.
The proposal for seasonal flights initially, followed by a regular itinerary has been backed by the Amway visit from mid-November until this week.
Cairns Airport chief executive officer Richard Barker said Korean Air and Asiana Airlines executives experienced Cairns during the Amway event and “we received a lot of complimentary feedback around how operation it worked and the airport was met all the expectations and the services”.
“So, (the) operation, it all worked really well, which is a big tick for the region,” he said.
“Also we had our aviation development team in Korea at the same time and so the Koreans themselves heard through their own channels about how popular it was.
“So that puts us in a really good position to extend. We’ve historically flown to Korea and it’s absolutely on our radar.
“And the success of the Amway visit here has really put us in good stead to activate probably seasonal services to start with, but eventually move towards consistent services around to Korea.
“We have created important connections with executives and decision makers in Korea and demonstrated Cairns Airport’s capability to succinctly manage operations for these large, global carriers.
“Showcasing our region to thousands of Korean travellers – who enjoyed a seamless, direct flight – also invigorates demand in the market and fosters invaluable word-of-mouth promotion when those visitors return home.
“Our team continues to have positive discussions with airlines in Korea and we are excited to see what the future holds.”
Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive officer Mark Olsen said the Amway delegates spent more than $13 million during the visit.
“They love the food. They love the restaurants. Many of them have been to more than 30 of these Amway events around the world and they put Cairns in their top three,” he said.
“For many of them, it was their favourite destination they have ever visited,” Mr Olsen said.
“So many were talking about coming back with their families to spend more time in Cairns. And that’s the power of business events and it’s the power of the partnership between tourism and the airport.”
It comes as international connectivity to the region soars ahead of the busy festive season, with the return of Cathay Pacific’s direct Hong Kong services, release of a renewed Singapore Airline schedule with more flights to Cairns and the upcoming injection of thousands of additional seats with key carrier Air Niugini.
Hong Kong’s home carrier will operate three direct flights per week between Hong Kong and Cairns from December 9 to February 28, centred around the peak Lunar New Year period and Christmas holidays. Delivering more than 20,000 seats across the season on the A330 aircraft, the service will inject an estimated $18 million into the economy in visitor expenditure alone.
Air Niugini will soon begin operating its new A220 aircraft to Cairns, replacing the Fokker 70. The new fleet will add close to 65,000 additional seats on the Cairns route per year.
More than 120,000 passengers are expected to travel through Cairns Airport’s international terminal during December and January, along with more than 675,000 domestically.
“We are also looking forward to welcoming an additional Singapore Airlines widebody A350 service during the mid-year peak in 2026,” Mr Barker said.
“This will inject thousands of seats into the local market during our in-demand tourist period and offer more travel choices for both international visitors and locals, moving from four to five services per week.”
Mr Olsen said 800,000 passengers would be coming through in December, in January ... “an absolute boon for the tourism industry and we’ll see visitor expenditure continue to climb”.
