VA1297Virgin Australia Regional Airlines · MEL → CNS
live · 3h ago
Route confirmed Virgin Australia Regional Airlines

VA1297 MelbourneMEL · 16:55 CairnsCNS · 20:20

VA1297 by Virgin Australia Regional Airlines flies from Melbourne (MEL) to Cairns (CNS).

Right nowNext departure tomorrow Operates daily
16:55

scheduled from MEL

Typical gate push+12 minmedian posted departure
Typical arrival−6 minmedian over 6 operations
Wins back in air~18 minmedian gate push vs arrival · how planes make up time →

Where the minutes go

last 6 operations · gate push → arrival
0+30+60+90 min
09-21
+12 gate · +7 arrival
09-20
+26 gate · +2 arrival
09-19
−5 gate · −17 arrival
09-18
+8 gate · −23 arrival
09-17
+16 gate · −6 arrival
09-14
+3 gate · −8 arrival

The bar is how late it left the gate; the ring is where it actually arrived. Board clocks, not estimates.

The last 30 days

arrival outcome per operation

median arrival −6 min · 0 cancelled · 6 operations tracked

The route today

live boards
MELMelbourneOn-time likelyMEL delay board →
CNSCairnsOn-time likelyCNS delay board →
MEL→CNSevery carrier, schedules and on-time historyRoute intelligence →

Weather lens

Delay & cancellation outlook for this flight

Measured, 90-day sample
36%Chance of 15+ min delay
2.1%Chance of cancellation
+8 minAvg hub delay right now

Conditions at MEL and CNS are near their clear-air norm right now, so this reflects the route's recent baseline rather than a weather penalty. For this route and airline, under conditions like today's, over the last 90 days.

Pro Flight Search tracking, 90 days · the weather × delay correlation study → · live weather risk by airport →

When it flies

scheduled departures
061422
M
T
W
T
F
S
S

Each mark is a scheduled departure at its origin-local time. Today is highlighted.

Other Melbourne to Cairns flights today

same route · Virgin Australia Regional Airlines
VA1293departs 09:35

If VA1297 is cancelled, this is the other Virgin Australia Regional Airlines nonstop flight from Melbourne to Cairns on the same day, with scheduled departure times in MEL local time. Most flights posting a delay still operate — rebooking usually only beats a very large posted delay. Every airline on this route →

How VA1297 actually runs

Pro Flight Search has tracked every published board update for VA1297 across the MEL and CNS boards: schedule changes, gate pushes and actual clocks. Usually lands ~6 min early. Based on 6 confirmed landings · 6/6 within 15 min of schedule.

The verdict above is that record speaking, so it reflects how VA1297 operates rather than what the timetable promises. Numbers refresh as new flights operate.

Technical record

How this operation is measured

board clocksaircraft

Board log

scheduled → actual, per operation
09-21MEL 16:55 17:07 (+12)CNS 20:20 20:27 (+7)
09-20MEL 16:55 17:21 (+26)CNS 20:20 20:22 (+2)
09-19MEL 16:55 16:50 (−5)CNS 20:20 20:03 (−17)
09-18MEL 16:55 17:03 (+8)CNS 20:20 19:57 (−23)
09-17MEL 16:55 17:11 (+16)CNS 20:20 20:14 (−6)
09-14MEL 16:55 16:58 (+3)CNS 20:20 20:12 (−8)

Aircraft

Recent tails: VH-8VG, VH-8VI, VH-VOK, VH-VON.

Board clocks recorded as MEL and CNS published them.

Cite this data

Journalists, bloggers, and researchers may cite this page with attribution and a link to Pro Flight Search.

Suggested citation

Pro Flight Search — VA1297 Melbourne to Cairns on-time performance, measured from the MEL and CNS airport boards.

Canonical URL
https://proflightsearch.com/flight/VA1297
How we measure this →