Flight Time from Melbourne to Cairns

At the moment, you can catch a nonstop flight from Melbourne to Cairns with the following airlines, including: Jetstar Airways Virgin Australia Qantas Airways Selected airlines are based on historical data collected from flight bookings users made on Trip.com within the last 90 days.

It takes around 3 hours 27 minutes to fly from Melbourne (MEL) to Cairns (CNS).

By analyzing data from all airlines on the Trip.com flight calendar, it looks like the best time to book a flight from Melbourne to Cairns is around 40 days (6 weeks) in advance, and the best time to fly is usually on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Tuesday typically offers the cheapest flights for departure, while Saturday offers the best return deals.

Based on Trip.com data in the past 4 weeks, there is 59 flight per week flying from Melbourne to Cairns. You can check the weekly schedule for popular airlines on this route below: Virgin Australia: S/M/T/W/T/F/S -- VA1293 (10:04)

The cheapest months to fly from Melbourne to Cairns is October, when demand for travel is lower.

After crunching the numbers on our December flight calendar, it's currently cheapest to fly from Melbourne to Cairns on December 15, 2025 with Jetstar Airways, with prices starting at $74.

You can land at any one of the following hubs in Cairns, with Melbourne Airport to Cairns Airport (MEL-CNS) is by far the most common option on this route: Cairns Airport (CNS).

The time difference between Cairns and Melbourne is 0h.

Tickets can only be changed or canceled if permitted by airline policy. To submit a change or cancellation request, go to the flight bookings page, select the option to change or cancel your booking, choose the relevant passengers and segment, and submit a request. Please note that additional charges may apply according to the airline ticket policy. However, if the flight has been rescheduled and you would like to change or cancel your ticket, you can submit an involuntary cancellation request. For more details about change and cancellation policies, please check the customer support pages.