Hughenden Airport (HGD)

Departures from Hughenden Airport (HGD) at a glance

• 2flights a day81st busiest of 111 airports
• 2routes from here
• 1airline
• 09:50 – 16:00first and last00061218

Collected between 29 October 2026 and 30 October 2026. Not live — check with the airline before booking.

Hughenden Airport (HGD) is the airport for Hughenden, a town in the Flinders Shire of North West Queensland. The Airservices Australia aerodrome entry names Flinders Shire Council as its operator. The Visit Hughenden tourism site puts the town 376 km west of Townsville, on the fully sealed Flinders Highway (Overlander's Way).

Rex is the airline the site's schedule data records at Hughenden Airport. In town, the Flinders Discovery Centre holds a museum with a fossil dig area, and the lookout over Porcupine Gorge National Park is about 60 km north.

Flights from Hughenden Airport

Direct domestic flights recorded from Hughenden Airport go to:

Destination	Airport	Airline recorded
Richmond	Richmond Aerodrome (RCM)	Rex
Townsville	Townsville Airport (TSV)	Rex

Hughenden appears on a regulated air route operated by Rex in the table of regulated air services kept by the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads. The department says it regulates services where demand is too low for a route to be commercially viable for the operators. It also says its current regional aviation contracts will now expire on 31 December 2027.

The airfield at Hughenden

Flinders Shire Council's Hughenden Airport page says the aerodrome was upgraded in June 2014, with a complete reconstruction of the runway, apron and taxiway, including light-emitting diode (LED) lighting and line marking. The runway was lifted 200 mm to make it more flood resilient. The council calls it reputedly the first foamed bitumen constructed new runway in Australia.

The aerodrome entry, in its issue of 3 September 2026, lists two runways, one of brown gravel and one with edge lighting, and says an automatic standby generator is available.

Flying Rex from Hughenden Airport

Check-in and identification

At Rex's Queensland regional airports other than Burketown, the check-in desk closes 30 minutes before scheduled departure and the boarding gate closes 15 minutes before. With checked bags, Rex recommends presenting them at the desk 60 minutes before departure. Web check-in opens 48 hours before and closes 60 minutes before, but passengers with special requirements must check in at the airport.

Rex's conditions say a passenger who misses check-in or the gate closing time is treated as a "no show" and the ticket is cancelled. Rex's Travel Requirements page asks passengers aged 18 and over for an acceptable form of identification, such as a passport or driver's licence, or two forms of non-photographic identification, with the name matching the booking. Passengers aged 17 or under are not required to show identification when travelling with, or presented at check-in by, an identifiable guardian.

Baggage and the cabin

Rex's baggage page sets its allowances for all regional services operated by the Saab 340 turboprop: a 7 kg cabin bag on all fares, and a checked allowance of 15 kg or 23 kg depending on the fare type, with 23 kg on Flex fares. On regional flights, overnight bags and briefcases carried on board must not exceed 23 cm deep, 34 cm high and 48 cm long. Rex says carry-on baggage may be weighed and measured.

Carry-on bags over the limit at the boarding gate are offloaded and travel as checked baggage on the next available flight, and it is the passenger's responsibility to collect them from the airport when they arrive. Rex says the Saab 340 cargo compartment has "only a very limited capacity", and its conditions let it offload checked bags within the allowance when the aircraft is restricted in the baggage it can carry. Rex suggests asking its staff to test a doubtful bag against the size and weight limits before check-in closes.

Rex's access plan for the Saab 340 refers to the aircraft stairs. It describes a single-aisle aircraft with rows of one seat on the left of the aisle and two on the right, and a single toilet.

Assistance and children

Rex asks for special requirements at least 48 hours before the planned departure, at booking or through its Customer Contact Centre on 13 17 13. Passengers with a wheelchair or mobility device check in no later than 60 minutes before departure at the Queensland regional airports covered under check-in. Rex says some airports in Queensland cannot cater for passengers who need its Disabled Passenger Lifter, and asks passengers who cannot climb the aircraft stairs to call before booking to check.

Children aged 5 to 11 travelling alone must travel as unaccompanied minors unless they are with a parent or guardian aged 15 or over, and children under 5 must be accompanied by an adult aged 15 or over. An unaccompanied minor checks in at the airport at least 60 minutes before departure at the Queensland regional airports covered under check-in. The sending adult hands the child to Rex staff at the boarding gate and stays at the airport until the aircraft has departed.

Security screening and liquids

The Cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre says an open charter or regular public transport air service must be aviation security screened if it:

• uses aircraft with a seating capacity of 40 or more persons
• operates from an Australian designated, tier 1 or tier 2 security controlled airport
• uses any aircraft departing from the same apron as a screened air service operating at a designated airport.

The Department of Home Affairs limits liquids, aerosols and gels to containers of 100 mL or 100 g or less, all fitting in one transparent and re-sealable plastic bag. It applies the limits in these situations:

• when departing Australia
• when transiting through Australia from one country to another
• when travelling on the domestic leg of a flight departing from an Australian international terminal
• before boarding an inbound flight at its last point of departure before it reaches Australia.

Delays, cancellations and weather around Hughenden

Rex's Conditions of Carriage list inclement weather among the events beyond its reasonable control, and say times of arrival and departure are not guaranteed. If Rex changes the flight schedule or cancels the flight booked, its conditions say the passenger may decide to cancel the ticket and obtain a full refund.

When Rex cancels, its page of frequently asked questions on disruptions says it will try to offer a seat on an alternative flight on the same day or another day, other transport such as buses, or a flight to the nearest alternative Rex port. The same page says Rex does not bear hotel or taxi costs. It also says that because of the limited facilities at some of the regional airports Rex flies to, refreshments or meals may not always be available there.

Hughenden is in the Flinders River catchment, and the Bureau of Meteorology says the river rises in the Great Dividing Range, 110 km northeast of the town. Its Flinders River flood brochure records that in February 2019 a monsoon trough brought prolonged record rainfall, with 7 to 10-day totals of 400 to 800 mm around Hughenden, Richmond, Julia Creek and Cloncurry, and prolonged isolation of communities. It also records that in late December 2025 and early January 2026 a slow moving tropical low in the monsoon trough brought a prolonged period of widespread heavy to intense rainfall to parts of northwestern and northern interior Queensland, that the rainfall led to major flood peaks in Cloncurry, Richmond and Julia Creek, and that the Flinders Highway and Great Northern Railway suffered prolonged closures and damage.

In a Queensland Government statement of 3 June 2026 on flood upgrades to the Flinders Highway, Flinders Shire Council Mayor Kate Peddle said a section of the highway about 20 km west of Hughenden can deteriorate quickly after significant rain.

Hughenden and the Flinders Shire

The Flinders Shire, named after the explorer Matthew Flinders, covers about 41,200 square kilometres and includes the towns of Hughenden, Prairie, Stamford and Torrens Creek. The council describes agriculture, with cattle grazing and cropping, as the backbone of the shire. Events it names include the Festival of Outback Skies, the Hughenden Country Music Festival and the annual Hughenden Agricultural Show.

Flinders Discovery Centre

The Flinders Discovery Centre at 37 Gray Street, Hughenden, is an accredited visitor information centre with a museum. After major extensions completed in 2023, the museum's exhibits cover the five pillars on which the community was built (dinosaurs, First Nations, pastoral, sheep and railway), with children's areas and a fossil dig area. The Centre's opening hours differ by season, and it says dates and closures may be subject to change.

The Muttaburrasaurus and the Dinosaur Trail

A Flinders Shire Council release published on 28 April 2026 says Hughenden holds a special connection to the Muttaburrasaurus, Queensland's fossil emblem. It says fossil discoveries from the Hughenden area and the wider Flinders Shire have contributed to scientific understanding of Australia's prehistoric past. The council places the area on Australia's Dinosaur Trail, which the Visit Hughenden site says connects Hughenden, Richmond and Winton.

Porcupine Gorge National Park

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service puts the Porcupine Gorge lookout about 60 km north of Hughenden, with fully sealed access: the Kennedy Developmental Road north, then 1.5 km on the lookout access road. The Pyramid camping area, the day-use area and the Pyramid walking track lie further north again, along Mount Emu Road and the Pyramids access road. The council says the gorge is known as Australia's "Little Grand Canyon".

The park service describes towering cliffs of coloured sandstone, pockets of vine forest and deep permanent waterholes along Porcupine Creek, and the Pyramid, an isolated monolith of multicoloured sandstone rising from the floor of the gorge. It names the Yirendali people as the traditional custodians of Porcupine Gorge. The lookout is wheelchair-accessible with assistance, and the park's facilities include toilets and picnic tables.

The park's safety page says the park is semi-remote, rangers may not be on park to help, and mobile phone coverage is unreliable. Camping needs a permit obtained before arrival, and the page asks visitors to check park alerts and road conditions before the trip. It says the national park may be closed at times due to severe weather or management operations.

Questions about Hughenden Airport

Where can I fly from Hughenden Airport?

The site's schedule data records Rex flying from Hughenden Airport to Richmond and Townsville. Rex takes bookings on 13 17 13 and through its website.

How early should I be at Hughenden Airport for a Rex flight?

At the Queensland regional airports covered under check-in, Rex recommends presenting checked bags 60 minutes before departure, and its check-in desk closes 30 minutes before scheduled departure. The boarding gate closes 15 minutes before departure.

Does Hughenden observe daylight saving time?

Hughenden is in Queensland, which does not observe daylight saving. The New South Wales Government lists New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory as observing it, and Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory as not.

How far is Porcupine Gorge from Hughenden?

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service puts the gorge lookout about 60 km north of Hughenden by the Kennedy Developmental Road, with fully sealed access.