Cheap flights from Sydney to Cairns from $88

The cheapest month to fly to Cairns from Sydney is in August. Flight prices, which tend to average around $190, are often lower during this time because this is during the off-season. The month of January is another great option to travel to Cairns, with average flight prices from Sydney averaging around $192.

Our data shows that Wednesday is the least expensive day to fly to Cairns. Tickets to fly out on this day can be as low as $218. The most expensive day to fly to Cairns is Thursday, with ticket prices averaging around $293.

Our data shows that the cheapest Sydney to Cairns flights are usually those with departure times in the evening. Our users have found flights to Cairns in the evening for as low as $220. At noon is when there is more demand to fly to Cairns, so prices are often more expensive at around $280 per ticket.

Fly from Sydney Kingsford Smith to Cairns for the best Sydney Kingsford Smith - Cairns flight prices

You are more likely to see cheaper flights to Cairns from Sydney when booking weeks ahead of your departure date. In general, you can expect to find flights to Cairns for around $218 when searching weeks out. However, flight prices might be lower outside of this timeframe. For example, people recently found flights to Cairns from Sydney for as low as $195 on momondo.

There are 3 cabin classes available to choose from on Sydney to Cairns flights. Cabin price and availability will vary by airline so perform a search above to find the right deals for you.

Jetstar and Qantas Airways are the most popular carriers operating from Sydney Kingsford Smith to Cairns

Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Qantas Airways are the top three most popular airlines that fly to Cairns from Sydney according to our data. Jetstar is the first choice among our users, with 52% of people opting to fly with this airline when traveling to Cairns. Keep in mind that there are 3 different airlines that fly to Cairns on a routine basis, so you have a few additional options to choose from.

Historically, on average around 18% of flights between Sydney and Cairns have experienced a delay on any given week. The average delay length over the past 12 months has been 97 minutes.

Generally, flights departing at night tend to experience fewer delays. Flights in the evening have, in the past, seen delays more frequently in comparison.

Sunday is statistically the day of the week which experiences the fewest number of delays on this flight route. Thursday has historically seen more delays on average compared to the rest of the week.

According to our data, Virgin Australia have had the least number of delays on this route over the last 12 months; with about 12% of their flights experiencing any sort of delay.

The number of flights available between Sydney and Cairns is 21 per day as of June 2026. The most frequent departure time is 9:00AM, with 63% of daily flights leaving at noon.

151 flights are operational weekly from Sydney to Cairns as of June 2026. The most popular departure day for this route is Mon, with 22% of flights per week taking off on this day.