Impasse as Jetstar stalls on Japan flights
CAIRNS – The decision by Jetstar to postpone flights between Japan and Cairns to April next year has received a cool reception from the Queensland government.
Jetstar has blamed the decision to defer the four weekly flights – due to launch in December – on its inability to reach an agreement with the Cairns International Airport.
The airline has been negotiating with the airport over landing fees and charges for the flights, which are predicted to bring up to 62,000 Japanese visitors to Cairns annually
Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said negotiations are continuing and provided an agreement can be reached, the flights would start next April.
“Our commitment is very clear – we’ll finalise airport arrangements, we’ll be aggressive in marketing Japan,” he said.
Queensland’s acting premier Paul Lucas told the Cairns Post he was disappointed with the decision to put the flights on hold and said tourism in Cairns had been hit hard by the global financial crisis.
“That’s why the Premier wrote to the CEO of Jetstar to get the company to the negotiating table and to ask them to make good on the commitment they made to the tourism industry in North Queensland,†Lucas said.
“I know that Cairns Airport have been prepared to go the extra mile on this and Jetstar have an obligation to try and make these flights happen as soon as possible.”
Ian Jarrett
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