CNS to TSV flight delays
134 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · Australian Government BITRE
79.7%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.75%
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 two directions do not behave alike. TSV to CNS arrives on time 11.2 points more often than the outbound. Delay accumulates through the flying day, so whichever direction is scheduled later tends to carry the worse record — which is an argument for booking the morning departure if the choice exists.
Only QantasLink flies this route in the published record, so there is no choice to weigh — the route's figures and the airline's are the same figures.
The Cairns to Townsville route sits close to the middle of the record — neither notably punctual nor notably late.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, QantasLink arrived on time most often on CNS to TSV.
Every airline on CNS to TSV
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QantasLink | 121 | 80.99% | 0% | — | B |
| Rex Airlines | 13 | 66.67% | 7.69% | — | — |
The return leg
TSV to CNS Townsville back to Cairns 90.91% on time AOther routes from Cairns
Common questions
Are flights from Cairns to Townsville usually delayed?
79.7% of flights on the CNS to TSV route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is about the same as the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Cairns to Townsville?
Only QantasLink appears in the published record on this route, with 121 flights and 80.99% arriving on time.
How often are CNS to TSV flights cancelled?
0.75% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 8 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on CNS to TSV 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 →