AKL → CNSAuckland to Cairns

live

Direct flights from Auckland (AKL) to Cairns (CNS): 4 nonstop departures observed each week across 1 airline. The median arrival is on schedule. No cancellations were recorded across the 3 tracked flights. The nonstop covers 3,619 km, an estimated 5 hours 8 minutes in the air. Measured by Pro Flight Search from live flight boards at Auckland and Cairns. Updated 12 September 2026 at 05:48 UTC.

AKL Auckland smooth · +0
CNS Cairns smooth · +0
3,619 km · ~5h 08m est.
departs 07:104x weekly
Running clean · 1 airline · 4x weekly · nonstop
100 / 100

route health from live AKL and CNS delay boards

Median arrival delay is +0 min. 0 of 3 tracked legs cancelled in the sample. Will a delayed flight be cancelled? →

Median arrival+0 minacross the last 3 operated legs
Flight time~5h 08mestimated from route distance
Weekly departures4x1 direct airline on the leg

The week

scheduled departures · origin local time
06121824
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Air New Zealand

Each mark is a scheduled departure at its origin-local time, observed operating in the last 7 days. Today is highlighted.

Who flies it

observed on the boards · 7 days
Air New ZealandNZ

Flights NZ161 07:10 Mo Tu Th Sa

History

operated legs · board outcomes
09-12NZ161dep +30 → arr+3
09-10NZ161dep +18 → arr+0
09-07NZ161dep +22 → arr−15

Actual board outcomes rather than schedules, paired departure and arrival per flight and day.

Full board history, day by day →

Airports right now

live boards
AKLAuckland +0 min smooth 🌤 few clouds · WSW 14 kt Full AKL delay board →
CNSCairns +0 min smooth 🌤 scattered clouds · SE 17 kt Full CNS delay board →

Weather lens

Current conditions put the pressure at AKL and CNS: 29% odds of a 15+ minute delay and around +3 min expected when it bites, measured from this route's own weather-matched delay history. See live delays → · Weather risk by airport →

How the Auckland to Cairns route actually runs

Pro Flight Search records official board updates for nonstop AKL to CNS flights through the day: schedules, estimates, gate pushes and actual departures. The verdict above comes from operated flights, so it reflects what this route does rather than what the timetable promises.

Planning around a delay? Live airport delays · Weather delay risk map · Will a delayed flight be cancelled? · Do planes make up time in the air? · How we measure

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 — Auckland (AKL) to Cairns (CNS) route reliability, measured from operated flights on official airport boards.

Canonical URL
https://proflightsearch.com/search-flights/AKL-CNS
How we measure this →

AKL to CNS questions

Is AKL–CNS running on time right now?

Smooth skies ahead. Both endpoints currently score the same, route health score 100/100. The airports section above carries the live status and delay window at both ends.

How long is the flight from AKL to CNS?

Great-circle distance is 3,619 km. With typical jet cruise speed plus taxi, climb and descent, expect roughly 285–340 min gate-to-gate on this route.

How often does AKL–CNS fly?

Air New Zealand runs the route with about 4 flights a week (mon, tue, thu, sat). Since one carrier owns the route, a single disruption tends to ripple through the day.

What does the route health score measure?

A blend of departure-side delay at AKL and arrival-side delay at CNS, computed from rolling delay windows (refreshed every 40 minutes) with a daily-rollup fallback. Current MVFR, IFR, or LIFR endpoint weather caps the score when flight rules can limit throughput. Higher is healthier: 100 means operations are clean at both ends.