Where is CNS airport?

CNS is a large airport in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, at -16.8789, 145.7495, 3 m above sea level.

What time zone is CNS in?

CNS is in the Australia/Brisbane time zone, UTC+10.

How many passengers use CNS?

4,714,360 passengers in 2025, according to BITRE, the Australian Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (scheduled flights). Jan–May 2026: 1,735,359 passengers, −3.3% on the same months of 2025.

Cairns International Airport opened in 1936.

AirportMiles

CNS — Cairns International Airport

Flights on Google Skyscanner

Large airport in Cairns, Australia.

IATA code: CNS
ICAO code: YBCS
Size: large; OurAirports class
Passengers: 4,714,360; 2025 · +0.4% on the year before
Nonstop routes: 12; With open traffic data
Time zone: UTC+10; Australia/Brisbane
Elevation: 3 m; 10 ft
Runways: 1; Longest 3,197 m

Jan–May 2026: 1,735,359 passengers, −3.3% on the same months of 2025 (Eurostat).

Local time now: —

More codes: airport codes starting with C

About CNS

Cairns International Airport is a large airport serving Cairns, Australia. It opened in 1936. 4,714,360 passengers used it in 2025. Open traffic data shows 12 nonstop routes from CNS.

Wikidata (CC0) · BITRE (CC BY). Sources

Busiest nonstop routes from CNS

Route	To	Distance	Passengers / year
CNS → BNE	Brisbane, Australia	1,389 km	1,305,346
CNS → SYD	Sydney, Australia	1,967 km	916,051
CNS → MEL	Melbourne, Australia	2,306 km	858,728
CNS → KIX	Osaka, Japan	5,786 km	123,814
CNS → SIN	Singapore, Singapore	5,007 km	104,280
CNS → DPS	Denpasar, Indonesia	3,435 km	75,750
CNS → POM	Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea	838 km	42,783
CNS → CHC	Christchurch, New Zealand	3,883 km	41,152
CNS → AKL	Auckland, New Zealand	3,619 km	34,536
CNS → NAN	Nadi, Fiji	3,366 km	27,720
CNS → HKG	Hong Kong, Hong Kong	5,552 km	14,051
CNS → LAX	Los Angeles, United States	11,570 km	228

Passengers on the route, both directions, over the period of each source: US DOT / BTS T-100 (Aug 2025 – Jul 2026) for routes touching the US, Eurostat (2024) for routes reported by European airports, BITRE (domestic May 2025 – Apr 2026, international Jul 2025 – Jun 2026) for routes in and out of Australia. Routes outside these are not counted.

Nearest airports

Code	Airport	Serves	Distance
CTN	Cooktown Airport	Cooktown, Australia	171 km
PMK	Palm Island Airport	Palm Island, Australia	226 km
TSV	Townsville Airport / RAAF Base Townsville	Townsville, Australia	285 km
CUQ	Coen Airport	Coen, Australia	447 km
KWM	Kowanyama Airport	Kowanyama, Australia	454 km

Distance from CNS to the major hubs

Route	To	Distance	Passengers / year
CNS → LHR	London, United Kingdom	15,151 km	—
CNS → DXB	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	10,836 km	—
CNS → CDG	Paris, France	15,145 km	—
CNS → FRA	Frankfurt, Germany	14,715 km	—
CNS → IST	Istanbul, Turkey	13,479 km	—
CNS → AMS	Amsterdam, Netherlands	14,809 km	—
CNS → JFK	New York, United States	15,407 km	—
CNS → ATL	Atlanta, United States	14,700 km	—
CNS → LAX	Los Angeles, United States	11,570 km	228
CNS → SIN	Singapore, Singapore	5,007 km	104,280
CNS → HND	Tokyo, Japan	5,837 km	—
CNS → DOH	Doha, Qatar	11,204 km	—

Runways

Runway	Length	Width	Surface	Lights
15/33	3,197 m	45 m	Asphalt	Yes

OurAirports (public domain). Sources

Location

Cairns, Queensland, Australia · -16.8789, 145.7495

Map (OpenStreetMap) Airport website Wikipedia

Questions

Cairns International Airport has the IATA code CNS and the ICAO code YBCS. Airlines and tickets use the three-letter IATA code; pilots and air traffic control use the four-letter ICAO code.

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