CNS · Cairns, Australia
Cairns International Airport.
--:--:-- · AEST (UTC+10:00) · 16.8789° S, 145.7495° E
Cairns Airport
Airport in Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Verification trail
Source-backed facts for CNS
This section separates stable airport identifiers from live operating data. Codes, coordinates, timezone, elevation, source identifiers, and accepted reference links are retained here; live arrivals, departures, gates, delays, NOTAMs, and airline schedule changes must still be checked with the airport or carrier.
Airport catalog
OurAirports ID 26904; ident YBCS; scheduled service listed.
Cached airports.csv snapshot: 2026-04-25; runways.csv snapshot: 2026-05-21.
Official airport source
cairnsairport.com.au
Used as the preferred live-reference handoff for terminals, gates, alerts, and airport notices.
Open sourceReference summary
Cairns Airport
Airport-shaped reference summary from en.wikipedia.org; summary snapshot 2026-05-20.
Open sourceManual / derived signals
18 source-backed signals
Merged from OurAirports cached airports.csv, OurAirports cached runways.csv, Wikidata airport entity snapshot, airport-shaped Wikipedia summary snapshot; facts generated 2026-05-21.
IATA / ICAO
CNS / YBCS
OurAirports ident
YBCS
GPS / local code
YBCS
ISO region
AU-QLD
Scheduled service
Listed in source snapshot
Role
international scheduled-service gateway
Official host
cairnsairport.com.au
Reference host
en.wikipedia.org
Wikidata entity
Q474632
Snapshot generated
2026-05-21
Airport lookup keys
Stable codes
Regional keys
Nearby airport codes
Route reference codes
Accepted citation URLs
Last updated May 21, 2026. Stable airport identifiers and timezone facts are content-reviewed; clocks render live in the browser, while weather and time-difference notes are page-snapshot aids rather than permanent airport records.
Live values rendered at Nov 5, 7:09 PM UTC.
What you need to know now
Local airport time
--:--:--AEST · UTC+10:00
Time zone
AEST
Australia/Brisbane · UTC+10:00
Airfield conditions
Live airport weather is temporarily unavailable.
Surface access
5.3 km
Approximate distance to central Cairns.
Airport Snapshot
Country capital
Canberra
Languages
English
Currency
AUD ($)
Country area
7,692,024 km²
Passenger volume
Source note unavailable
Terminals
Not clearly stated
Runways
1 runway
Longest runway
10,489 ft / 3,197 m
Runway surface
asphalt
Opened / operator
1936
Owner / entity
Q474632
Hub airlines
Mixed or not clearly stated
Airport role
international scheduled-service gateway
Scheduled service
Listed
Fact coverage
18 source-backed signals
Cairns International Airport is a international scheduled-service gateway for Cairns, Australia. Cairns's built-up core sits roughly 5.3 km from the terminal area. Operations run on Australia/Brisbane (UTC+10:00, AEST). Live weather is temporarily unavailable. With 3 other indexable airports in its surrounding network, it works well as a reference point for regional flight planning and timezone checks.
Cairns International Airport (CNS / YBCS) is at 16.8789° S, 145.7495° E, elevation 10 ft (3 m), serving Cairns, Australia.
The accepted reference summary is used as supporting context for the airport identity and operating notes; the timed facts here still come from the airport catalog, timezone database, country snapshot, and linked source trail.
Cairns is in Australia (capital Canberra); regulated by Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA); on Australia/Brisbane (AEST, UTC+10:00); working languages: English; currency: AUD ($).
Distance from central Cairns: 5 km.
Airport context brief
A compact traveler-facing brief from the airport catalog, country snapshot, route geometry, city anchors, peer airports, and source trail for CNS.
Name and identity cues
Primary airport name
Cairns International Airport (CNS / YBCS)
Cairns Airport · Airport in Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Source identifiers
YBCS · YBCS · AU-QLD
cairnsairport.com.au · en.wikipedia.org · scheduled service yes
Source-specific airport notes
Regional role cue
It is the seventh busiest airport in Australia.
Accepted from the airport reference trail as a role-specific cue for CNS; not treated as a live service guarantee.
Location cue
The airport is located 2.3 nautical miles north northwest of Cairns or 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the Cairns central business district, in the suburb of Aeroglen.
Used to make the airport page location-specific beyond the code, coordinate, and timezone record.
Closest mapped city anchors
1. Cairns
cairns · 5.3 km from CNS
Australia · Australia/Brisbane · +0h · population 153,075 · city coordinates -16.9237, 145.7661
2. Townsville
townsville · 288 km from CNS
Australia · Australia/Brisbane · +0h · population 201,313 · city coordinates -19.2664, 146.8057
3. Kirwan
kirwan · 289 km from CNS
Australia · Australia/Brisbane · +0h · population 21,034 · city coordinates -19.3032, 146.7253
4. Mackay
mackay · 596 km from CNS
Australia · Australia/Brisbane · +0h · population 121,691 · city coordinates -21.1534, 149.1655
5. Mount Isa
mount-isa · 785 km from CNS
Australia · Australia/Brisbane · +0h · population 18,317 · city coordinates -20.7252, 139.4973
6. Rockhampton
rockhampton · 877 km from CNS
Australia · Australia/Brisbane · +0h · population 81,021 · city coordinates -23.3803, 150.5060
Airport alternatives in the retained graph
1. POM AYPY
Port Moresby Jacksons International Airport · Port Moresby
842 km from CNS · Pacific/Port_Moresby · +0h · elevation 146 ft (45 m) · airport coordinates -9.4434, 147.2200
2. LAE AYNZ
Nadzab Tomodachi International Airport · Lae
1151 km from CNS · Pacific/Port_Moresby · +0h · elevation 239 ft (73 m) · airport coordinates -6.5680, 146.7265
3. MCY YBSU
Sunshine Coast Airport · Maroochydore
1319 km from CNS · Australia/Brisbane · +0h · elevation 15 ft (5 m) · airport coordinates -26.5933, 153.0832
Route-time reference set
1. CNS-POM
Port Moresby · 842 km · 1h 54m
Pacific/Port_Moresby · +0h from CNS; reference route only, not a live schedule.
2. CNS-LAE
Lae · 1151 km · 2h 17m
Pacific/Port_Moresby · +0h from CNS; reference route only, not a live schedule.
3. CNS-MCY
Maroochydore · 1319 km · 2h 30m
Australia/Brisbane · +0h from CNS; reference route only, not a live schedule.
Runway source evidence
Published runway count
1 runway
Longest runway 10,489 ft / 3,197 m. 1 lighted runway in the runway snapshot.
Runway surface mix
asphalt
Surface labels are normalized from the OurAirports runway rows for CNS.
Runway identifiers
15/33
Identifier pairs are retained as airport-specific runway cues, not live operational availability claims.
Same-country airport context
1. MCY YBSU
Sunshine Coast Airport · Maroochydore · 1319 km from CNS
large airport · Australia/Brisbane · australia · 15 ft (5 m) · -26.5933, 153.0832
2. WTB YBWW
Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport · Toowoomba · 1340 km from CNS
large airport · Australia/Brisbane · australia · 1,509 ft (460 m) · -27.5583, 151.7933
3. BNE YBBN
Brisbane International Airport · Brisbane · 1392 km from CNS
large airport · Australia/Brisbane · australia · 13 ft (4 m) · -27.3842, 153.1170
4. OOL YBCG
Gold Coast Airport · Gold Coast · 1486 km from CNS
large airport · Australia/Brisbane · australia · 21 ft (6 m) · -28.1660, 153.5066
5. NTL YWLM
Newcastle Airport · Williamtown · 1872 km from CNS
large airport · Australia/Sydney · australia · 31 ft (9 m) · -32.7961, 151.8350
6. SYD YSSY
Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport · Sydney (Mascot) · 1974 km from CNS
large airport · Australia/Sydney · australia · 21 ft (6 m) · -33.9461, 151.1770
Accepted operational notes
Source note 1
Formerly operated by the Cairns Port Authority, the airport was sold by the Queensland Government in December 2008 to a private consortium.
Retained as a source-backed local role note for CNS.
Source note 2
It is the seventh busiest airport in Australia.
Retained as a source-backed local role note for CNS.
Country and authority
CNS sits in Australia (Commonwealth of Australia), whose capital is Canberra. Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is the national civil-aviation authority we name for regulator context. Country context: Oceania, Australia and New Zealand.
Traveler context
Common country-language signals: English. Currency context: AUD ($). CNS is listed with scheduled service in the airport source snapshot.
Reference description
Airport in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. This description is used only as identity context; live flight status, terminal assignment, and airport alerts still belong to the official airport or airline source.
Source-specific cues
Regional role cue: It is the seventh busiest airport in Australia. Location cue: The airport is located 2.3 nautical miles north northwest of Cairns or 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the Cairns central business district, in the suburb of Aeroglen.
Entity fingerprint
Wikidata airport entity: Q474632 · Cairns Airport. Administrative area: Queensland. Named after: Cairns. Entity official-site cross-check: cairnsairport.com.au
Field and clock profile
Cairns International Airport is a near sea-level field at 10 ft (3 m), positioned at 16.8789° S, 145.7495° E in the Southern tropics. The runway snapshot lists 1 runway and a longest runway of 10,489 ft / 3,197 m. The airport clock uses Australia/Brisbane (AEST, UTC+10:00), so cross-date arrivals should be checked against this zone rather than the airline origin city.
City and airport alternatives
Cairns is the closest retained city-time anchor at 5.3 km. POM Port Moresby is the closest retained airport alternative at 842 km.
Country airport peers
CNS is compared with MCY Maroochydore at 1319 km, WTB Toowoomba at 1340 km, BNE Brisbane at 1392 km, OOL Gold Coast at 1486 km, NTL Williamtown at 1872 km inside the retained Australia airport set, which is useful when backup airports share the same country context but differ by city, route network, and clock behavior.
Route geometry
CNS-POM Port Moresby: 842 km, about 1h 54m, +0h. CNS-LAE Lae: 1151 km, about 2h 17m, +0h. CNS-MCY Maroochydore: 1319 km, about 2h 30m, +0h. These are distance and timezone references, not live flight availability claims.
Source trail
OurAirports ident YBCS backs the stable code, coordinate, elevation, and timezone record. cairnsairport.com.au is attached as the official airport website. en.wikipedia.org is used only as supporting reference context. Snapshot date: 2026-05-21.
Operational Profile
Traffic profile
Reference airport
Airline role
Mixed commercial service
Terminal footprint
See operational notes
Runway footprint
1 runway · longest 10,489 ft / 3,197 m
Runway identifiers
15/33
OurAirports classifies CNS as a large airport with scheduled service; the airport name and codes identify it as an international gateway for Cairns.
CNS (YBCS) is a near sea-level field at 10 ft (3 m) in the tropics, kept in the curated set for its route, timezone, and market-planning value.
CNS sits in a broader regional network with 3 nearby curated alternatives, so airline choice and connection strategy are part of the planning story here.
CNS's runway record lists 1 runway, with the longest runway at 10,489 ft / 3,197 m and source surfaces recorded as asphalt.
Civil aviation oversight for CNS runs through Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA); a more specific operator record is not currently in our source set.
- Formerly operated by the Cairns Port Authority, the airport was sold by the Queensland Government in December 2008 to a private consortium.
- It is the seventh busiest airport in Australia.
These operational notes prefer the structured airport facts snapshot, then fall back to the accepted airport reference at cairnsairport.com.au, then blend that with local timezone, route, and city-access data already on this page.
Decision matrix for CNS
These are the specific situations where this airport page earns its keep: time-zone conversion, city transfer planning, nearby airport backup logic, and source-confidence checks before acting.
When the clock matters
CNS uses Australia/Brisbane (AEST, UTC+10:00). Use this before overnight arrivals, cross-date departures, and same-day connections.
When surface access matters
Cairns International Airport is about 5.3 km from central Cairns; build that transfer into arrival and check-in planning.
When alternates matter
POM Port Moresby is the closest retained alternate at 842 km, time difference +0h.
When source checks matter
cairnsairport.com.au is listed as the official airport website in the airport facts snapshot; live schedules, gates, routes, terminals, and NOTAM-sensitive operations still need official airport or airline verification.
How this airport compares nearby
These comparisons place CNS inside the retained airport graph by country, timezone, elevation, and coordinate neighbors. They are deterministic dataset facts, not generated flight claims.
Country-rank position
CNS ranks #4 in the curated Australia airport set when large airports are listed before medium airports, then sorted by IATA code. The retained country set has 12 airports.
Same-zone airport cohort
CNS shares Australia/Brisbane with BNE Brisbane AU · MCY Maroochydore AU · OOL Gold Coast AU · WTB Toowoomba AU. This helps separate same-clock airports by city, country, code, and geography.
Elevation-neighbor cohort
CNS is 10 ft (3 m). Closest elevation peers in the retained airport set include GYD 10 ft (3 m) (0 ft delta) · SHA 10 ft (3 m) (0 ft delta) · SRG 10 ft (3 m) (0 ft delta) · TSN 10 ft (3 m) (0 ft delta) · BSR 11 ft (3 m) (1 ft delta).
Coordinate-neighbor check
CNS's nearest retained coordinate neighbors are POM 842 km +0h · LAE 1151 km +0h · MCY 1319 km +0h.
Flight Path Arc
Great-circle route between airports with animated plane. Pick a route.
Arriving From / Departing To
| Destination | Route code | Distance | Estimated window | Time difference | Destination clock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Moresby | POM | 842 km | 1h 54m | +0h | --:--:-- |
| Lae | LAE | 1151 km | 2h 17m | +0h | --:--:-- |
| Maroochydore | MCY | 1319 km | 2h 30m | +0h | --:--:-- |
CNS to POM
Port Moresby
Distance 842 km; estimated travel window 1h 54m; destination zone Pacific/Port_Moresby is +0h from CNS. Use the live destination clock on this page as a cross-timezone planning cue, not as a live flight schedule.
CNS to LAE
Lae
Distance 1151 km; estimated travel window 2h 17m; destination zone Pacific/Port_Moresby is +0h from CNS. Use the live destination clock on this page as a cross-timezone planning cue, not as a live flight schedule.
CNS to MCY
Maroochydore
Distance 1319 km; estimated travel window 2h 30m; destination zone Australia/Brisbane is +0h from CNS. Use the live destination clock on this page as a cross-timezone planning cue, not as a live flight schedule.
Airport Details
Timezone
Ground Transport and Nearby Context
Central Cairns is close enough that taxi, ride-hail, and rail or shuttle links are usually the fastest arrival options.
Cairns is the nearest mapped city anchor in the current dataset, which makes it the cleanest companion page when travelers want to switch from airport timing into local city timing.
Cairns International Airport has 3 nearby indexed airport alternatives, which makes backup departures and diversion logic part of real planning instead of a theoretical edge case.
Nearby city time anchors
Airport pages are most useful when they bridge into real city clocks. These city anchors are ranked by distance from CNS, then shown with their own timezone, local time, and time difference from the airport clock.
Cairns
cairns · 5.3 km · Australia/Brisbane
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Townsville
townsville · 288 km · Australia/Brisbane
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Kirwan
kirwan · 289 km · Australia/Brisbane
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Mackay
mackay · 596 km · Australia/Brisbane
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Mount Isa
mount-isa · 785 km · Australia/Brisbane
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Rockhampton
rockhampton · 877 km · Australia/Brisbane
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Gladstone
gladstone · 964 km · Australia/Brisbane
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Bundaberg
bundaberg · 1121 km · Australia/Brisbane
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Hervey Bay
hervey-bay · 1185 km · Australia/Brisbane
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Maryborough
maryborough · 1202 km · Australia/Brisbane
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Gympie
gympie · 1258 km · Australia/Brisbane
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Sunshine Coast
sunshine-coast · 1324 km · Australia/Brisbane
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Airlines and Network Role
Cairns International Airport does not have a long carrier list in the current source trail, so this page emphasizes the durable pieces travelers can safely use here: local time, field identifiers, nearby airports, and timezone differences.
The route timing references show the first cross-timezone planning burden after this airport: Port Moresby (POM), Lae (LAE), Maroochydore (MCY). Treat them as distance and clock cues, then verify flight availability with the carrier.
Planning checkpoints
- Traffic signal: not clearly stated in the source trail.
- Terminal footprint: not clearly stated in the source trail.
- Runway footprint: 1 runway; longest runway 10,489 ft / 3,197 m; identifiers 15/33.
- Runway surfaces: asphalt; 1 lighted runway in the source snapshot.
- Operator / management: not clearly stated in the source trail.
- Opened / inaugurated: 1936.
- Network role: mixed or not clearly stated in the source trail.
Nearby Airports
Nearby airports are ranked by coordinate distance from CNS. The time difference column is computed from IANA zones against the page snapshot, while the local clocks update in the browser.
Port Moresby Jacksons International AirportPOM
Port Moresby · large airport
- Distance
- 842 km
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Time diff
- +0h
- Elevation
- 146 ft (45 m)
Compare against POM when route choice, backup departures, or arrival-side local time matters.
Nadzab Tomodachi International AirportLAE
Lae · large airport
- Distance
- 1151 km
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Time diff
- +0h
- Elevation
- 239 ft (73 m)
Compare against LAE when route choice, backup departures, or arrival-side local time matters.
Sunshine Coast AirportMCY
Maroochydore · large airport
- Distance
- 1319 km
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Time diff
- +0h
- Elevation
- 15 ft (5 m)
Compare against MCY when route choice, backup departures, or arrival-side local time matters.
Questions
FAQ
What timezone is Cairns International Airport (CNS) in?▾
Cairns International Airport is in the Australia/Brisbane timezone (UTC+10:00, AEST).
What are the codes for Cairns International Airport?▾
Cairns International Airport uses IATA code CNS and ICAO code YBCS.
Where is Cairns International Airport located?▾
Cairns International Airport is located in Cairns, Australia at coordinates 16.8789° S, 145.7495° E, with an elevation of 10 ft (3 m) (near sea-level field in the tropics).
How far is Cairns International Airport from central Cairns?▾
Cairns International Airport sits roughly 5.3 km from the nearest mapped city center for Cairns.
Which route reference is most useful from CNS?▾
Port Moresby (POM) is one of the closest route references on this page, with an estimated travel window of 1h 54m, destination timezone Pacific/Port_Moresby, and a +0h difference from CNS.
Which authority regulates CNS?▾
Cairns International Airport sits inside Australia, where civil aviation oversight is led by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
What other airports in Australia are close peers to CNS?▾
CNS's curated peers in Australia on this site include MCY Maroochydore, WTB Toowoomba, BNE Brisbane, plus 3 more.
How many runways does Cairns International Airport have?▾
Cairns International Airport's source-backed operational summary lists 1 runway, with the longest runway recorded at 10,489 ft / 3,197 m; identifiers include 15/33.