JETSTAR has yet to secure Japanese landing rights for its proposed flights to Tokyo from Cairns. 

While the airline is confident it will be granted new daily landing slots from Cairns and five Gold Coast flights a week, there are no guarantees the company will be
successful.

The shock news comes on the heels of the Qantas Group announcing last month it would axe all 14 of its flights from Cairns into Tokyo and eliminate its Jetstar routes to Osaka and Nagoya.

But Jetstar is not entitled to the Tokyo Qantas landing slots.

"In terms of the Qantas slots, they are not automatically transferred to Jetstar," Jetstar spokeswoman Simone Pregellio said. "Jetstar has to apply to the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to acquire the necessary landing rights spots.

"That formal application has been made."

Tourism Minister Desley Boyle, who has just returned from a mission to Asia armed with an $8 million war chest to attract more flights to Cairns, said while she was shocked at the news, she would fight on.

"It's abysmal that Jetstar still don’t have landing rights in Japan following Qantas Group's flight cuts to Cairns," she said. "However, I'm determined to get a better deal for Cairns with Qantas and Jetstar."

It is understood that the Japanese Government may put the landing slots out to tender to the highest bidder.

Ms Pregellio declined to comment on that possibility saying what the Japanese Government did was its own business and Jetstar was concentrating on its own application.

"We are well advanced in our negotiations with the regulators," she said.

"We have had very positive feedback."

Despite efforts to book seats on a Jetstar flight on the new route, The Cairns Post had no success.

Qantas Group sales and distribution general manager Rob Gurney said while Qantas would code share, it could not sell seats until Jetstar had published its schedule.

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