Cairns Airport has reopened after heavy flooding forced it to close

Team Climate Science
4 Min Read

Cairns Airport has reopened after travel plans were disrupted by the weather.

After Cyclone Jasper ex-Tropical continued far north in Queensland, flooding Cairns Airport, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.

close on Sunday evening.

However, the airport announced Tuesday morning that it was open for aircraft operations after a clean-up effort.
“We are pleased to confirm that the Cairns Airport runway is open and serviceable this morning and we are working today,” said an update on the Facebook page.

“We are meeting with our airline partners and key stakeholders shortly. Passenger services will resume at Cairns Airport this morning.”

Passengers with scheduled flights are encouraged to contact the airline directly for specific flight and schedule information.
“Airlines determine their own flight operations and schedules.”

“We thank you for your patience and would like to commend our airline partners for their commitment to restoring service to our region as quickly as possible.”

News.com.au understands that Qantas and Jetstar are now relaunching their services to offer flexibility to people who don’t want to travel, including free refunds, travel credits or date changes.
Virgin Australia will resume flights from 3pm local time today, December 19.

“This decision follows confirmation from Cairns Airport that the runway is open and safe,” a Virginia Australia spokeswoman told news.com.au.

“We are working hard to help stranded passengers at their final destination.”

Airlines are adding extra flights and larger planes this week to get passengers to their final destinations.

It also offers more flexibility to visitors whose flights were affected by Cyclone Jasper and flooding at Cairns Airport.

News.com.au understands that guests booked to travel to or from Cairns between December 12 and December 24 can reschedule their flight within 14 days of their original travel date (as they have a seat in the same cabin when rebooking).

The airline will also waive fees for guests who choose to reschedule their flight within 14 days of the original travel date (prices may vary).
In the meantime, if the guest’s flight is canceled and there is no possibility of recovery, they can request a refund or travel credit for the price paid for the effective flight in accordance with the airline’s fare conditions and guest compensation policy.

Customers are advised to contact the Virgin Guest Contact Center on 13 67 89 or a travel agent if they need to make changes to their booking.

The opening was made on Monday after “extensive efforts” by the Cairns Airport team with support from a number of external businesses working with dewatering, runway clearance and inspections, lighting and infrastructure.

“We’ve had a number of inquiries from customers who park at Cairns Airport,” he said.

The parking facilities at our domestic and international terminals were not adversely affected during the flood. “

Photos have since surfaced online of the plane flooding the runway at the airport.

Regional flood experts say the floods are now more than a century ago on record as ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper continues to wreak havoc.
Professor Jonathan Nott from James Cook University told ABC Far North that the flood was 40 percent higher than the 1977 flood, the largest on record in the region.

“This is a very bad flood,” Professor Nott said.

“1977 was the biggest flood in the previous record, and this is about 30 to 40 percent higher than the 1977 record, so it was a flood.”

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