Airnorth Debuts New Transcontinental Route

Airnorth has started Alice Springs (ASP) – Cairns (CNS) flights with assistance from the Northern Territory Government’s Aviation Attraction Scheme. The new flights form part of what is a new transcontinental Cairns to Perth (PER) via Alice Springs service that is operated by the same E190 aircraft.

Airnorth started its Perth – Alice Springs flights approximately 12 months ago. On April 14, 2025, it extended the service through to Cairns. TL361, operated by VH-XFM (msn 19000435), departed Perth at approximately 08.15 local time for the flight to Cairns via Alice Springs, arriving at around 16.30 local time on the same day.

Also on April 14, the westbound flight, TL362, operated by VH-XFL (msn 19000420), left Cairns at about 12.30 local time and arrived in Perth at around 15.30 local time after a 90-minute stopover in Alice Springs.

Jetstar flies between Perth and Cairns nonstop. However, Airnorth is the only carrier to fly on the Perth – Alice Springs and Cairns – Alice Springs city pairs. The thrice weekly services will put around 30,000 seats annually onto both sectors.

“This new service is a game-changer for Central Australia, providing greater access for visitors, businesses, and investors,” said Northern Territory Minister for Trade, Business and Asian Relations Robyn Cahill.

The Northern Territory Government did not disclose the terms of its assistance package or its amount. However, it has been reasonably successful in recent times in using the Aviation Attraction Scheme to attract new air services to the Northern Territory, including AirAsia’s thrice-weekly service between Darwin (DRW) and Bali (DPS), and four-times per week service between Darwin and Kuala Lumpur (KUL), and Jetstar’s four times per week seasonal service between Darwin and Gold Coast (OOL). The territory government says the scheme promotes connectivity, choice and competition.

Photo: Airnorth