Windorah Airport (WNR)

Departures from Windorah Airport (WNR) at a glance

• 2flights a day86th busiest of 111 airports
• 2routes from here
• 1airline
• 13:30 – 14:30first and last00061218

Collected between 11 October 2026 and 12 October 2026. Not live — check with the airline before booking.

Windorah Airport (WNR) serves Windorah, a town in Barcoo Shire in Queensland's Channel Country. Barcoo Shire Council operates and maintains it, and the council's airports page names Regional Express (Rex) as the commercial airline that uses it. The council says Windorah is the Aboriginal word meaning "Big Fish", and places the town 35 km south of where the Thomson and Barcoo Rivers join to form Cooper's Creek (also written Cooper Creek).

What Windorah Airport is

The council's airports page, last updated on 21 April 2022, says Windorah Airport "is unmanned" and sits on the north-eastern side of town, with both commercial and private operations. The same page gives a phone line for the Rex check-in desk during scheduled flights: (07) 4656 3178.

Airservices Australia's aerodrome entry for Windorah (issue of 3 September 2026) names Barcoo Shire Council, 6 Perkins Street, Jundah, as the operator, and lists the airport under its International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) code, YWDH. It records a sealed runway, 04/22, 30 metres wide, with pilot-activated runway lighting, and its remarks call Windorah a security controlled airport and add that a bird and animal hazard exists.

Direct domestic flights recorded from Windorah Airport

Direct domestic flights recorded from Windorah Airport go to the places below, each flown by Rex. The council's airports page refers travellers to Rex for more information.

Destination	Airport	Airline recorded
Birdsville	Birdsville Airport (BVI)	Rex
Quilpie	Quilpie Airport (ULP)	Rex

Queensland Government regulation of the Rex service

Windorah sits on one of the regional air routes regulated by the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, with Rex as the operator. The department says it regulates services where demand is too low for a route to be commercially viable, and it has taken up an optional extension, so the current contracts 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 Windorah

Check-in, boarding and identification

Rex's check-in page says the airport check-in desk closes 30 minutes before scheduled departure at regional airports in Queensland, Burketown excepted, 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 with no 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 checked on Promo and Saver fares or 23 kg on Flex. Carry-on bags may be weighed and measured, and a bag over the limit at the gate is offloaded, treated as checked baggage on the next available flight, and left for the passenger to collect from the airport on arrival.

The Saab 340 has a single aisle, with one seat on the left of each row and two on the right, and Rex says its cargo compartment "has only a very limited capacity". Rex also 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

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

When Rex flights are disrupted

Rex's conditions of carriage list inclement weather among the events beyond its control, and say times of arrival and departure are not guaranteed. When Rex cancels, it may offer a seat on another flight that day or another day, other transport such as a bus, or a flight to the nearest alternative Rex port; if Rex changes or cancels the booked flight, the passenger may instead cancel the ticket for a full refund. Rex also says that, with the limited facilities at some regional airports, refreshments or meals may not always be available there.

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.

The 2023 runway works

A council notice published on 5 October 2023 said Windorah Airport would be closed from 11 October to 15 December 2023 for critical works to upgrade the runway, and the council has since marked those works as completed. For the closure, the notice said a bus would run between Windorah and Quilpie to coincide with flight times, and that air mail and freight would be collected off the plane in Quilpie. It said the Royal Flying Doctor Service would use the Ourdel Station airstrip.

Roads, floods and Cooper's Creek

The Bureau of Meteorology's Cooper Creek flood brochure says the typical wide-ranging channel country develops downstream of Windorah, and that at Windorah the river could be up to 40 kilometres wide in the wet season. The same brochure lists Windorah flood gauge heights of 8.48 m for January 1974 and 8.50 m for March and April 2025, and the council calls the creek in flood "the beating heart of the Channel Country".

The council's road conditions page asks travellers to check road conditions, and says "it is wise to contact the local police in the area of travel on the day you wish to commence". It carries flood cameras on Cooper's Creek at the Lignum Channel and the Main Channel, with a warning that the images "must not be used to determine whether a road is open or closed", and says road closure information in its road report "is final and takes precedence over camera images". The visitor guide adds that road conditions and closures change quickly, tells travellers to be aware of rising creeks and channels, and points them to the Information Centres for road reports.

Windorah town

The Queensland Government's Land and Sea Rangers page says the Mithaka rangers, hosted by the Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation, care for Mithaka Country, an area west of Windorah in South-Central West Queensland. Queensland's Crown Law records that on 27 October 2015 the Federal Court of Australia made a determination by consent recognising the non-exclusive native title rights of the Mithaka People in far western Queensland, between Birdsville and Windorah.

The visitor guide's history says Charles Sturt named Cooper's Creek in 1845, Windorah was gazetted as a town in 1880, and the Cooper's Creek bridge was built in 1949. The council also describes an information and history walk or drive around town that includes the old court house.

Cooper's Creek, fishing and the sandhills

Describing Windorah, the council writes: "From here the mighty Cooper commences its epic journey towards Lake Eyre", with channels and flood plains stretching for up to 100 km. It describes waterholes up to 10 km long holding yellowbelly, catfish and bream, as well as yabbies, and a 12 km nature drive from just outside town to the Cooper's Creek crossing.

The sandhills 12 km west of town, on the road to Birdsville, are also on the council's list. Its visitor guide calls them Sando's Sandhills and asks visitors to leave everything as they find it, because they are on private property.

Whitula Gate Museum and other sights

The Whitula Gate Museum is an original slab hut, built around 1906 on the banks of the Whitula Creek and relocated to the grounds of the Visitor Information Centre. The JC pub ruins, once part of the township site of Canterbury, lie 80 km west of Windorah with the small town cemetery, according to the council. A solar power farm with a viewing bay supplies Windorah with most of its energy, the council says, and its visitor guide dates the farm's commissioning to 2009.

Events in the council's visitor guide

The council's visitor guide lists the Windorah International Yabby Races, held in the main street on the Wednesday before the Birdsville Races each September, and the Windorah Yellowbelly Hunt, a school fundraiser on the May Day (Labour Day) long weekend. It also lists the Stockmen's Challenge, Rodeo and Campdraft in August, and bronco branding with a motorbike and horse gymkhana in July.

Town services

The Windorah Visitor Information Centre is at 7 Maryborough Street, phone (07) 4656 3063. It has tea and coffee, information on road conditions, souvenirs, local craft and wifi, according to the council.

The visitor guide's directory lists the Western Star Hotel (15 Albert Street), the Windorah Caravan Park (1 Albert Street, marked "No bookings taken"), the Windorah Outback Shop (16 Albert Street, with fuel) and Mervos Servo (3 Albert Street). It also lists the Windorah Primary Health Centre at 25 Cecil Street, police at 12 Maryborough Street, and a post office. The guide's travel tips say Telstra 4G is the only phone service available, and say temperatures "fluctuate from 0 to above 45 degrees throughout the year".

Questions about Windorah Airport

Who runs Windorah Airport?

Barcoo Shire Council, 6 Perkins Street, Jundah, Queensland 4736, phone 07 4658 6900, according to the Airservices Australia aerodrome entry.

Does the council describe Windorah Airport as unmanned?

Yes. The council's airports page, last updated on 21 April 2022, describes Windorah Airport as unmanned.

Is there fuel at Windorah Airport?

The Airservices Australia entry lists Windorah Aviation Fuels with an Avgas and Jet A1 bowser, and Jet A1 by appointment only. The council's airports page, last updated on 21 April 2022, says bookings are required and gives 0459 892 185 for fuel bookings.

Does Windorah 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.