Julia Creek Airport (JCK)

Departures from Julia Creek Airport (JCK) at a glance

• 2flights a day81st busiest of 111 airports
• 2routes from here
• 1airline
• 11:20 – 14:30first and last00061218

Collected between 29 October 2026 and 31 October 2026. Not live — check with the airline before booking.

Julia Creek Airport (JCK) serves Julia Creek, a town on the Flinders Highway in McKinlay Shire, North West Queensland. McKinlay Shire Council runs the airport and describes it on its airport page. The site's schedule data records Rex flights from Julia Creek to Mount Isa and Richmond.

Julia Creek Airport: operator and runway

Airservices Australia's aerodrome entry for Julia Creek (issue of 3 September 2026) names McKinlay Shire Council as the aerodrome operator, with the postal address PO Box 177, Julia Creek, and the phone number 07 4746 7166. The Council says the aerodrome was certified by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) on 20 June 2008. The entry lists a sealed runway with runway edge lights, and the Council says private planes are also welcome.

The all-weather runway upgrade

The North Queensland Register reported on 7 June 2018 that the upgraded Julia Creek Airport had officially reopened with an all-weather runway. A joint release from federal and Queensland ministers said the all-weather runway would give more reliable year-round access. Queensland's minister said the old runway had ponding issues that made it unsafe during wet weather, and the release quotes Mayor Belinda Murphy listing the work: resurfacing and sealing the runway pavement, reinstated line markings, drainage works and replacement navigation lights.

The Australian Government's Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program, the Queensland Government's Building our Regions and the Council funded it.

Apron and parking works the Council announced in February 2025

In a media release of 25 February 2025, the Council said a federal funding package secured by the North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils would pay for works to improve the resilience of the aerodrome. It said the grant would allow the apron to be expanded so that Rex and Lifeflight aircraft would be able to park at the same time, with more tie-downs for light planes, and that parking next to the terminal building would be increased. The Council gave the purpose as supporting essential services such as emergency re-supply during disasters, when road access is unavailable.

Direct domestic flights recorded from Julia Creek Airport

Direct domestic flights recorded from Julia Creek Airport go to the places below, each flown by Rex.

Destination	Airport	Airline recorded
Mount Isa	Mount Isa Airport (ISA)	Rex
Richmond	Richmond Aerodrome (RCM)	Rex

Queensland Government regulation of the Rex service

Julia Creek is on one of the regional air routes that the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads regulates, with Rex as the operator. Across the program as a whole, the department says it regulates services where demand is too low for a route to be commercially viable, and it has exercised an extension to the current contracts, which now expire on 31 December 2027. It also says its service delivery partners "control all operational matters, including check-in, boarding, in-flight services and baggage services".

Flying Rex from Julia Creek

Check-in, boarding and identification

Rex's check-in page says the airport check-in desk closes 30 minutes before scheduled departure at regional Queensland airports such as Julia Creek, and Rex recommends presenting checked bags 60 minutes before. The boarding gate closes 15 minutes before departure at regional airports, and a passenger not ready at the gate by then is excluded from boarding and forfeits the fare. Web check-in opens 48 hours and closes 60 minutes before scheduled departure, but passengers with special requirements must check in at the airport.

Rex's Travel Requirements page asks passengers aged 18 and over for an acceptable form of identification (ID) in the name on the booking, and a passenger without photographic ID can show two forms of non-photographic ID instead. Electronic copies on a device are accepted. Passengers aged 17 or under need no ID when travelling with, or presented at check-in by, an identifiable guardian.

Baggage and the cabin

On regional services operated by the Saab 340 turboprop, Rex currently allows 7 kg of carry-on baggage on all fares, and 15 kg of checked baggage on most fares (Promo and Saver among them) or 23 kg on Flex. Carry-on bags may be weighed and measured, and a bag over the limit at the gate is offloaded, sent as checked baggage on the next available flight, and left for the passenger to collect from the airport on arrival. Check Rex's baggage page before you pack.

Rex's Disability Access Facilitation Plan describes the Saab 340 as a single-aisle aircraft with one seat on the left of the aisle and two on the right. Rex says the Saab 340 cargo compartment "has only a very limited capacity", and it reserves the right to offload checked bags within the allowance when the aircraft is restricted in the baggage it can carry.

Stairs and special assistance

Rex's access plan for the Saab 340 refers to the aircraft stairs. Some airports in Queensland cannot cater for passengers who need its Disabled Passenger Lifter, and passengers with limited mobility who cannot climb the aircraft stairs are asked to call its Customer Contact Centre on 13 17 13 before booking to check. Special requirements are asked for at least 48 hours before departure, and wheelchair and mobility device passengers at Queensland regional airports such as Julia Creek check in no later than 60 minutes before departure.

When Rex flights are disrupted

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. When Rex cancels, it says it will try to offer a seat on an alternative flight the same day or another day, other transport such as a bus, or a flight to the nearest alternative Rex port; 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. Rex also says that, with the limited facilities at some of the regional airports it flies to, refreshments or meals may not always be available there.

If an aircraft cannot safely land at an airport, Rex's conditions say the passenger may be landed at an alternative airport and then returned or sent on at Rex's discretion. Rex's Flight Status and Disruptions page forecasts disruptions and cancellations for today and tomorrow, searchable by date, flight number and origin or destination.

Commonwealth aviation security rules

Commonwealth screening rule for air services

The Cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre (CISC) says an air service that operates open charter or a regular public transport operation 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

Home Affairs liquids, aerosols and gels restrictions

The Department of Home Affairs applies its liquids, aerosols and gels restrictions 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
• prior to boarding an inbound flight at its last point of departure before it reaches Australia

Where they apply, each container must be 100 mL or 100 g or less, and all containers must fit in one transparent, re-sealable plastic bag.

Getting to Julia Creek by road, rail and coach

The Council puts Julia Creek about 650 km west of Townsville and about 250 km east of Mount Isa, on the Flinders Highway, which it also calls the Overlander's Way. It describes the highway as a sealed, double lane highway accessible to all vehicles during the dry season. The Julia Creek Visitor Information Centre, on the corner of Burke and Julia Streets, can advise on local road conditions, and the Council's website has a Flood Cameras and Road Conditions page.

According to the Council, Queensland Rail's Inlander service between Townsville and Mount Isa stops in Julia Creek. At the Creek, the Council-run visitor centre's website, says the station is within walking distance of the town centre. The Council also says Greyhound Australia coaches stop in Julia Creek, McKinlay and Kynuna, with times that vary and are subject to change.

Julia Creek town and McKinlay Shire

The Council's town history says the first European settlement in North West Queensland was on what is now Julia Creek, when Donald McIntyre took up Dalgonally Station in 1862. The town started in 1890 and was called Hilton until the railway was established in 1907, when it was renamed after McIntyre's niece. The Council says Julia Creek earned the tagline "Gateway to the Gulf" when the road north to Normanton was sealed in the 1960s.

McKinlay Shire takes in Julia Creek and Nelia, on the Flinders Highway, and McKinlay and Kynuna, on the Landsborough Highway (the Matilda Way). The Council names McKinlay's Walkabout Creek Hotel as "the pub in the movie 'Crocodile Dundee'", and lists the Blue Heeler Hotel at Kynuna.

At the Creek visitor centre and Beneath the Creek

The Council runs the Julia Creek Visitor Information Centre, known as At the Creek, at 34 Burke Street, in historic railway fettler cottages themed on water, country and people. Its Beneath the Creek exhibit is an interactive look at life in McKinlay Shire and is home to two dunnarts, viewed in a habitat similar to the wild; the Council says visitors can watch them being fed during the peak tourist season, April to September. The centre also has a virtual reality cattle-mustering experience, and its opening hours differ by season.

Museum, water tower and heritage sites

The Duncan McIntyre Museum holds a Willy Jeep truck, a steam engine, a tractor and fossils formed in the Eromanga Sea, with displays on wool, the hospital, radio and telecommunications, according to At the Creek. The town's 30 m water tower, shaped like a wine glass and built in 1971, can be seen from up to 20 km away and is lit blue at night. The Julia Creek Opera House on Julia Street, which At the Creek says officially opened on the same day as the Sydney Opera House, holds local and regional photographs.

At the Creek also lists the ruins of a concrete building that housed a generating plant supplying power to an air force High Frequency / Direction Finding (HF/DF) station, the "Round House", installed in 1942. It says only two Round Houses were ever built of concrete, the other at Tolga. The centre gives out maps for a signposted historical walk and a public art walk.

Caravan park, birdlife and the Dirt n Dust Festival

The Council also runs the Julia Creek Caravan Park, where its Artesian Bath Experience uses water from the Great Artesian Basin and is booked by phone or email. The Council lists bush dinners at the park, run by local not-for-profit groups, from June to September.

At the Creek says the best time for birdlife is directly after the wet season, from March to June. The town also hosts the Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival, and the festival's own site lists a rodeo and live music in its program.

Questions about Julia Creek Airport

Who runs Julia Creek Airport?

McKinlay Shire Council, PO Box 177, Julia Creek, Queensland 4823, phone 07 4746 7166, according to the Airservices Australia aerodrome entry. The Council's office is at 29 Burke Street, Julia Creek.

How far is Julia Creek Airport from the town centre?

At the Creek, the Council-run visitor centre's website, puts the airport approximately 3 km from the town centre.

What does Rex ask of passengers who cannot climb the aircraft stairs at Julia Creek Airport?

Rex asks passengers with limited mobility who cannot climb the aircraft stairs to call its Customer Contact Centre on 13 17 13 before booking to check. Rex says some airports in Queensland cannot cater for passengers who need its Disabled Passenger Lifter.

Does Julia Creek observe daylight saving?

No. Queensland does not observe daylight saving, and neither do Western Australia or the Northern Territory. New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory do.