Quilpie Airport (ULP)

Departures from Quilpie Airport (ULP) at a glance

• 2flights a day81st busiest of 111 airports
• 2routes from here
• 1airline
• 13:05 – 14:35first and last00061218

Collected between 30 October 2026 and 31 October 2026. Not live — check with the airline before booking.

Quilpie Airport (ULP) serves Quilpie, the main township and business centre of the Quilpie Shire in south-west Queensland. Quilpie Shire Council operates the aerodrome, and the site's schedule data records Rex flights from here to Charleville and Windorah. The Governor of Queensland opened the upgraded terminal on 29 May 2018.

Flights from Quilpie Airport

Direct domestic flights recorded from Quilpie Airport go to:

Destination	Airport	Airline recorded
Charleville	Charleville Airport (CTL)	Rex
Windorah	Windorah Airport (WNR)	Rex

The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads lists Quilpie on a regulated air service operated by Rex, under arrangements effective from January 2022. In general, the department says it regulates services where demand is too low for a route to be commercially viable, and that the current regional aviation contracts will now expire on 31 December 2027.

The airport and its terminal

The Airservices aerodrome entry (issue of 3 September 2026) names Quilpie Shire Council, 50 Brolga Street, Quilpie, as the operator and lists Quilpie as a public aerodrome. Its passenger facilities line lists refreshments, toilets and a passenger lounge.

At the 2018 opening, the Governor said the upgrade gave visitors, residents, air crews and aeromedical services a larger hub for arrivals and departures, and a more comfortable one, as the terminal "has been known to get a trifle warm here in summer, and a trifle cool in winter". The State Government and the council financed the work.

The council's visitor booklet describes a bitumen-surfaced east-west runway, a terminal building, and bitumen surfacing on the tarmac and car park. The terminal holds a display about Amy Johnson, who landed in Quilpie in 1930, and a plaque there remembers the town's wool scour.

In 2026 the council sought tenders for the reconstruction and surfacing of the airport's main runway, taxiway and apron.

Car hire and the roads to Charleville and Windorah

Outback Car Hire's own site says its vehicles are available from Quilpie.

The council's visitor booklet gives the drive from Charleville to Quilpie as 212 kilometres along the Diamantina Developmental Road, a sealed road. It gives the drive from Windorah to Quilpie as 246 kilometres, also on a sealed road.

Flying Rex from Quilpie Airport

Check-in and identification

Rex's web check-in opens 48 hours and closes 60 minutes before scheduled departure. Rex says its airport check-in desk closes 30 minutes before scheduled departure at regional airports in Queensland other than Burketown, and the boarding gate closes 15 minutes before. Rex recommends presenting checked bags at the desk 60 minutes before departure.

Passengers with special requirements must check in at the airport. Rex says a passenger who misses the check-in or boarding 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, or two forms of non-photographic identification for anyone without photo identification, and the name must match the booking. Passengers aged 17 or under need none when travelling with, or presented at check-in by, an identifiable guardian. Rex accepts electronic copies of identification on a device.

Baggage and the cabin

Rex states its baggage allowances for its regional services operated by the Saab 340 turboprop. Rex currently allows a 7 kg cabin bag on all fares, and a checked allowance of 15 kg or 23 kg depending on the fare type. Cabin items such as overnight bags and briefcases must not exceed 23 cm deep, 34 cm high and 48 cm long, and 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 the passenger collects them from the airport on arrival. Rex says its Saab 340 cargo compartment has "only a very limited capacity", and it may offload checked bags within the allowance when the aircraft is restricted in the baggage it can carry. Check Rex's baggage allowance page before you pack.

Assistance and children

Rex asks for special requirements at least 48 hours before departure, made at booking on its website or through its Customer Contact Centre on 13 17 13. Rex says passengers with a wheelchair or mobility device check in no later than 60 minutes before departure at regional airports in Queensland other than Burketown. Rex's access plan for the Saab 340 refers to the aircraft stairs, and Rex says some Queensland airports cannot cater for passengers who need its Disabled Passenger Lifter, asking passengers who cannot climb the aircraft stairs to call the Customer Contact Centre before booking to check.

Children aged 5 to 11 travelling alone must fly as unaccompanied minors unless they travel with a parent or guardian aged 15 or over, children aged 12 to 14 may request it, and children under 5 must travel with an adult aged 15 or over. Rex says an unaccompanied minor checks in at the airport no later than 60 minutes before departure at regional airports in Queensland other than Burketown. The sending adult hands the child to Rex staff at the boarding gate and must stay at the airport until the aircraft has departed.

Security screening and liquids

The Commonwealth's Cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre 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.

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, re-sealable plastic bag. Its restrictions apply 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 Quilpie

Rex's Conditions of Carriage list inclement weather among events beyond its reasonable control, and say that if an aircraft cannot safely land at an airport, the passenger may be landed at an alternative airport. 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 disruption page says it will try to offer a seat on an alternative flight on the same day or another day, alternative transport such as a bus, or a flight to the nearest alternative Rex port. Rex says it does not bear hotel or taxi costs, and that because of limited facilities at some of the regional airports it flies to, refreshments or meals may not always be available. The same page says the guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law still apply.

The council's booklet says the aerodrome could be classed as all weather, as only on a few occasions have planes been unable to land, because of a low ceiling caused by dust storms.

The Bulloo River passes through Quilpie. The Bureau of Meteorology's Bulloo River flood brochure (last updated October 2025) says the river at Quilpie peaked at 7.31 m on 29 March 2025 and the town was heavily affected, against a peak of 7.85 m in 1963. It says major flooding requires a large-scale rainfall event over the catchment.

Quilpie and the Quilpie Shire

The Quilpie Shire covers 67,415 square kilometres of south-west Queensland on the ancient floodplains known as Channel Country, and takes in the towns of Adavale, Cheepie, Eromanga, Quilpie and Toompine. The Great Western Railway Line came to Quilpie in April 1917, and the council calls the town the official "end of the line".

The Kullilli Bulloo River Aboriginal Corporation says that on 2 July 2014 the Federal Court made a consent determination recognising the rights and interests of the Kullilli People over land in South West Queensland that includes areas of the Quilpie Shire.

Boulder opal and the fossicking area

The council's booklet describes boulder opal as unique to Queensland. The booklet says the council operates a fossicking area just out of Quilpie at the entrance of the airport, and that no permit is required: bring your own equipment, or pick up a bucket and spray bottle at the Quilpie Visitor Information Centre. Outback Queensland's listing places it two kilometres west of Quilpie.

The booklet also lists opal on show in shops on Brolga Street, at the Quilpie Museum and Visitors Centre, at the Shire office, and in the opal altar of St Finbarr's Catholic Church.

Baldy Top and the Bulloo River

Baldy Top Lookout is about 6.8 kilometres from Quilpie on the Toompine Road, on a fully sealed road, with a covered picnic area and toilets. The climb is a relatively easy ten-minute scramble, and the lookout is lit up at night.

The Bulloo River Walk has information signs, and flora and fauna lists are available at the Visitor Information Centre. The council's booklet calls the river an ideal place to cast a line for yellowbelly (golden perch).

Museums and the Quilpeta Night Show

The Quilpie Visitor Information Centre on Brolga Street houses an art gallery and museum, and its opening days differ by season. Its Quilpeta Night Show is an outdoor-screen show that tells Quilpie's story from some 95 million years ago, with the giant titanosaurs Cooper and George, boulder opal and the early pastoral settlers, and the council's booklet says it runs during April to October. The town also has a Rail Museum and a Military History Museum on Brolga Street, and a Powerhouse Museum on Winchu Street.

Further out, the booklet names the Eromanga Natural History Museum and Hell Hole Gorge National Park among the shire's attractions.

Questions about Quilpie Airport

Where can I fly from Quilpie Airport?

The site's schedule data records Rex flights from Quilpie Airport to Charleville and Windorah. Check with Rex for the current timetable.

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

Rex recommends presenting checked bags 60 minutes before departure. Rex says its check-in desk closes 30 minutes before scheduled departure at regional airports in Queensland other than Burketown, and the boarding gate 15 minutes before. At those airports, passengers with a wheelchair or mobility device, and unaccompanied minors, check in no later than 60 minutes before departure.

Who operates Quilpie Airport?

Quilpie Shire Council, at 50 Brolga Street, Quilpie, is the operator named in the Airservices aerodrome entry.

Does Quilpie observe daylight saving time?

Quilpie 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 Quilpie from Charleville by road?

The council's visitor booklet gives the drive from Charleville to Quilpie as 212 kilometres along the Diamantina Developmental Road, which is sealed.