CNS to SYD flight delays
Cairns (CNS) Sydney (Mascot) (SYD)
1,756 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · Australian Government BITRE
82.84%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.8%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
—
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
—
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The 3 airlines here are separated by under 6 points — close enough to call a tie. Choose on price and departure time.
Flights from Cairns to Sydney (Mascot) keep to schedule more reliably than most. On a route this punctual the day you fly matters more than the airline you pick.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Jetstar arrived on time most often on CNS to SYD. Qantas was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in April and worst in January.
Every airline on CNS to SYD
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jetstar | 814 | 84.41% | 0.74% | — | B |
| Virgin Australia | 616 | 83.44% | 0.97% | — | B |
| Qantas | 300 | 78.93% | 0.33% | — | C |
| QantasLink | 26 | 64% | 3.85% | — | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
SYD to CNS Sydney (Mascot) back to Cairns 80.88% on time BOther routes from Cairns
Common questions
Are flights from Cairns to Sydney (Mascot) usually delayed?
82.84% of flights on the CNS to SYD route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is better than the average route in this record.
Which airline is most on time from Cairns to Sydney (Mascot)?
Jetstar, at 84.41% on time across 814 flights. The least punctual on the route was Qantas at 78.93%.
How often are CNS to SYD flights cancelled?
0.8% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 8 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Cairns to Sydney (Mascot)?
April, when 89.1% of flights arrived on time. The worst was January at 74.2%.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on CNS to SYD during January 2025 – August 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →