Virgin’s surprise decision to cancel flight

Around 2,000 customers are expected to be affected by Virgin Australia’s shock decision to cancel a daily flight.

The airline announced on Monday that it would no longer operate daily flights between Cairns and Tokyo from February 24, 2025.

Virgin Australia only introduced Cairns-Tokyo services in June last year.

Customers who 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 agency or third-party booking site are encouraged to contact those locations to request a refund and make alternate travel arrangements.

Virgin Australia’s chief transformation and strategy officer Alistair Hartley apologised to affected customers, saying the service was “no longer commercially viable” following the pandemic.

“Withdrawing the Cairns-Tokyo services was a difficult decision, but unfortunately the recovery in inbound visitor numbers from Japan is significantly lower than expected and therefore operating our own service to Tokyo is no longer commercially viable,” he said.

“We know this is disappointing news and we are sorry for the impact this decision will have on customers who have booked travel with us from 24 February 2025.”

The move follows a drop in Japanese visitors to Australia – up to 35% below pre-pandemic levels – as well as continued weakness in the Japanese yen.

For those looking to travel to Japan, Virgin will continue its partnership with All Nippon Airways (ANA), offering up to 17 flights per week between Australia and Japan.

“We have a strong partnership with ANA that will allow us to continue to support inbound tourism from Japan to Australia and to popular tourist destinations such as Far North Queensland,” Mr Hartley said.

“Similarly, Virgin Australia customers and Velocity Frequent Flyer members will be able to seamlessly book flights with ANA from anywhere in Australia to Japan directly on our website. We will also continue to offer Velocity Points, Rewards Seats and loyalty benefits on eligible ANA flights.

“I would like to thank the Queensland Government for their partnership in launching our services to Tokyo and for their continued support of Virgin Australia, one of the largest carriers of tourists to the Sunshine State.”