Airport Strategy and Marketing Limited (ASM), a company specialising in route development, has been engaged by Cairns Airport to establish scheduled services to China. The aim is to establish a direct connection to Chinese cities rather than the current situation in which connecting flights must be made via Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne.

“Our approach will centre around the charter services that already exist – there are several airlines offering services, particularly around Chinese New Year in February – and we hope to be able to negotiate and broker successful partnerships to extend these into regular scheduled services from hubs in China,” according to Robert Evans, general manager aviation for Cairns Airport.