Cairns Airport is major factor in maintaining 30,000 Far North Queensland jobs, according to a recent report by Cummings Economics.

Airport owners North Queensland Airports (NQA) initiated the study which showed the airport's operations directly and indirectly generates around 30,000 jobs and $2.5 billion of "value added" revenue for the regional economy.

Cairns Airport Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Brown, said the company’s vision is to be a valued part of progress and development in the region, and the report confirmed the importance of their role.

“The study reinforces the fact that Cairns Airport is a vital aviation hub servicing the region’s significant tourism, business, resources and primary industries as well as providing an extremely well serviced airport for people living in a regional area,” Mr Brown said.

“The number of direct and indirect jobs driven by the airport represents about 22 per cent of the region’s employed workforce and the value added to the economy represents about 21 per cent of the region’s total economic activity.

“We already have a dozen key airline partners linking us with the important international aviation centres of Auckland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Guam as well as Osaka and Port Moresby, providing tourists with a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and world heritage rainforests that the area is famous for around the world.”

Almost 4 million passengers currently come through Cairns Airport per year with projections for moderate growth in the next few years.

As reported on The Newsport earlier this month, Tiger Airways will resume flights to Cairns from Melbourne on 25 April with a new midday service raising hopes of an increase in tourist numbers this year. 

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