$2,413 Find Cheap Flights from South Africa to Cairns

This is the cheapest return flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight to Cairns departing on 29/7. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Cairns

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to Cairns, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to Cairns, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from South Africa to Cairns

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for return flights from South Africa to Cairns that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent return flight deals from South Africa to Cairns

Wed, 29 Jul - Wed, 5 Aug
Emirates Logo
22:20 - 14:25
JNB
-
CNS
56h 05m
2 stops
Emirates Logo
15:45 - 20:35
CNS
-
JNB
36h 50m
2 stops
$2,413Emirates
Fri, 31 Jul - Fri, 7 Aug
Emirates Logo
13:30 - 08:40
JNB
-
CNS
59h 10m
2 stops
Emirates Logo
10:10 - 05:30
CNS
-
JNB
51h 20m
2 stops
$2,431Emirates
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to Cairns

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights to Cairns to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest month to fly to Cairns?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights to Cairns, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights to Cairns is November, where tickets cost $951 on average for return flights. On the other hand, the most expensive months are August and July, where the average cost of tickets from South Africa is $1,640 and $1,610 respectively. For one-way flights, the best month to travel is December with an average price of $581.

Good to know

Low seasonMarch
Best time to beat the crowds (19% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 27% lower on average.

FAQs - booking Cairns flights

  • How far is Cairns Airport from central Cairns?

    You’ll need to travel 4 km to reach the Cairns city centre from Cairns Airport.

  • What is the name of Cairns’s airport?

    When flying to Cairns, you'll arrive at Cairns Airport (CNS). The airport is also known as Cairns or Cairns Intl.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights to Cairns?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights to Cairns.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket to Cairns?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Cairns is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights to Cairns?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to Cairns with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight to Cairns?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Cairns up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • How many direct flights to Cairns are there each week?

    Each week there are around 1,091 direct flights from within South Africa to Cairns. The most common day for departures is Friday, with 18% of flights taking off on this day.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Cairns

  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest Cairns flight deals.

Reviews of the top airline flying from South Africa to Cairns

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying to Cairns. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline from South Africa to Cairns. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with to Cairns? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.2
Singapore AirlinesOverall score based on 1545 reviews
7.8Food
8.3Boarding
8.0Comfort
8.6Crew
8.1Entertainment
Airline reviews

Limited food options. I dont like chicken or even fish but that’s the only option. Sad to say not impress

6.0 GoodDreiTen, June 2026
MNL - SIN
Read more Singapore Airlines reviews

Limited food options. I dont like chicken or even fish but that’s the only option. Sad to say not impress

Subject: Complaint Regarding Cabin Temperature on Flight SQ447 (DAC–SIN)** Dear Singapore Airlines Customer Service, I am writing to express my disappointment regarding my recent experience on flight SQ447 from Dhaka (DAC) to Singapore (SIN). After boarding, it became apparent that the cabin air conditioning was not functioning adequately. When we initially raised the concern, a flight attendant informed us that it would take approximately 10 minutes for the temperature to cool down once the aircraft began operating. We trusted this explanation; however, the cabin remained uncomfortably warm, and many passengers—including my family—were sweating for an extended period. After approximately 45 minutes, I raised the issue again. While the attendant mentioned that adjustments had been made, the response did not reflect the seriousness of the ongoing discomfort. It was only after about an hour into the flight that the temperature finally improved and the cabin became more comfortable. I also spoke with several other passengers seated nearby, and they confirmed they were experiencing the same issue. As a frequent traveler who has always associated Singapore Airlines with high standards of service, this experience was very disappointing. It has made me reconsider choosing this route with your airline in the future. I hope you will review this incident and take the necessary steps to ensure that such situations are handled more promptly and professionally going forward. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Mohammed Shahriar

Flight attendants were awesome! Very helpful and patients. Some food were good but maybe not serving fish that kinda make the whole aircraft smell fishy. The “fried pork” was tasty but too much skin so it doesnt taste that great.

Never book through Kayak. They can offload booking to third parties that are completely horrible.

I loved the full Taylor Swift selection but felt that the other selections were limited, didn’t span the popular music eras nor a wide enough range of music genres. BUT the seat and bed were GREAT (it was wide, long enough, had great storage, firm enough to uphold body postural comfort). Outstanding crew and really great food - gourmet innovative dim sum breakfast so different from the boring standard fare offered by many other business class products.

Crew is excellent Wifi needs to be improved in order to connect to the internet.

They ran out of the second choice of food was stuck with fish

Excellent crew service. Professional, courteous. Service with a smile. Good food Very decent flight experience

The crew was very courteous and professional. the flight is relatively clean and comfortable.

The consistency with Singapore Airlines is fantastic. Crew are always brilliant and food delicious in business class

Travelling to a place near Cairns?

Book flights to Cairns if you plan to visit one of these locations
Mission Beach
Trinity Beach

Everything you need to know for your flight to Cairns

Information on the airport you'll fly into in Cairns