East Air’s inaugural service from Cairns to Hamilton Island has taken off, linking the two Queensland holiday destinations for the first time since before COVID-19.
The flight, operated by Beechcraft 1900D VH-JYA, left Cairns shortly before 9.30am on Monday and landed on Hamilton Island just over an hour later. East Air currently operates Monday and Thursday services, with Sunday flights beginning in February.
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According to East Air chief executive Alan Milne, advance bookings for the route, previously operated by Qantas before the pandemic, are “exceeding expectations”, with the inaugural flight almost full.
“The service is designed to better serve travelers, both domestic and international. We have created a seamless corridor between two gateways to the Great Barrier Reef, meaning visitors don’t have to choose between one or the other,” he said.
“It is particularly attractive to international tourists who do not typically visit regional Queensland. Our connection can be integrated into a customer’s door-to-door itinerary, so it really takes the guesswork out of holiday planning by eliminating long airport transfer times and additional travel costs.”
According to Milne, locals have welcomed the return of the Cairns-Hamilton Island service.
“As a locally owned airline, we understand the value and importance of regional air connectivity. Residents of tropical north Queensland and the Whitsundays are excited to have another convenient option for their holidays.
“Sales are strong and increasing, and we are delighted with how quickly flights are returning to their previous passenger loads, when Qantas flew this route pre-COVID.”
In the 2024-25 financial year, international tourism to Far North Queensland increased 24.7 per cent to $1.2 billion.
According to Queensland Environment and Tourism Minister Andrew Powell, the route is a “shining example” of the potential for growth under the state’s new tourism plan, unveiled earlier this year.
“Connectivity is not only an expectation of our visitors, it is a central network that locals also deserve, which is why it constitutes one of the central pillars of Destination 2045.
“Opening our state is a great way to boost visitor economies in our iconic regions, and I’m excited to see more routes in the future.”
Milne, former chief executive of Skytrans (now SmartLynx Australia), bought East Air (previously a purely charter airline) from its previous owners earlier this year with the intention of becoming “a dominant player in the regional market” in Queensland.
While East Air currently operates two Beechcraft 1900s, Milne intends to expand the fleet with around four or five Dash-8 aircraft by the middle of next year, and the aircraft could come from those recently offloaded by QantasLink.
