How reliable is Cairns International Airport?
Flights from CNS avoided significant airline-controlled delay in 76% of 59,665 flights in official BITRE history — and weather is calmest in Nov. Here’s the full picture before you book.
Reliability score
on-time, cancellations & delays
Weather favorability
year-round climate
Origin-airport operations
What the airline-controlled delay record at CNS looks like
Avoided 15+ min controlled delay
across 59,665 flights
Source: BITRE. Origin-grouped, cause-attributed operational history; it is not a direct departure-punctuality measure or a guarantee for any flight.
Advertisement
Weather by month
When the weather works for you at Cairns
A calm-weather score (0–100) for each month from decades of airport observations — how often conditions disrupt flying, not temperature. Higher is calmer.
Calmest month
Calmest flying weather of the year · 100/100 favorability
Roughest month
Most disruptive — low visibility & fog, thunderstorms · 97/100 favorability
The read on CNS
What the numbers say about flying through Cairns International Airport
Across official performance history, flights from Cairns avoided significant airline-controlled delay about 76% of the time over 59,665 flights. That's a respectable but unspectacular operational record. Pair it with a moderate cancellation rate of 2.0%. When a departure does run late, the typical delay is around 0 minutes.
On weather, Cairns is an unusually calm-weather airport year-round. November is the calmest stretch for flying, scoring 100 out of 100 for favorable conditions, while January is the most disruptive at 97, driven mainly by low visibility & fog and thunderstorms. The year is relatively steady, so no single month stands out as one to avoid on weather alone.
None of this guarantees your specific flight — it’s the backdrop. To turn it into a booking, score real flights to Cairns, read how we weigh it all in how the PlaneSane Score works, and brush up with how to pick a reliable flight and avoiding weather delays.
Common questions about CNS
- How reliable is Cairns International Airport (CNS)?
- Flights from Cairns avoided significant airline-controlled delay roughly 76% of the time across 59,665 flights of official history — a respectable but unspectacular operational record. The cancellation rate runs about 2.0%. It's advisory context, not a guarantee for any single flight.
- What is the best month to fly from CNS for good weather?
- November has the calmest flying weather at Cairns International Airport. January is the most disruptive, mainly from low visibility & fog and thunderstorms.
Planning a trip through Cairns?
Score real flights to and from CNS on reliability, weather, and connection safety — not just price.