Winton Aerodrome (WIN)

Departures from Winton Aerodrome (WIN) at a glance

• 2flights a day86th busiest of 111 airports
• 2routes from here
• 1airline
• 14:10 – 16:45first and last00061218

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

Winton Aerodrome (WIN) is the airport for Winton, a town in Central Western Queensland that the council places on the Landsborough Highway, 178 km north-west of Longreach. Winton Shire Council runs the aerodrome, and its aerodrome page puts it north-east of the town, out along the Longreach Road. The town has the Waltzing Matilda Centre, and within a drive are the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum on the Jump-Up, the Dinosaur Stampede at Lark Quarry and Bladensburg National Park.

Winton Aerodrome's history and Airservices entry

The council's history says it officially took over the aerodrome on 1 July 1963, after the Department of Civil Aviation asked it in 1960 to do so under the Local Ownership Plan. On 22 May 1965 the Civil Aviation Minister, Senator Henty, opened the terminal building, and the council says the same building is still used today. It names a display of district photographs by the photographer Peter Knowles as a feature of the building.

The aerodrome has been at its present site since 1942, the council says, after earlier landing areas near the Football Ground and later north of the town. Its history also records that on 13 April 1921 the council became the first local authority in Queensland to financially support an aerodrome, and that on 4 July 1934 it asked for Winton to be a stopping place on the Australia to England air service.

Airservices Australia's aerodrome entry (issue of 3 September 2026) names Winton Shire Council as the operator and lists Winton as a security controlled airport with perimeter security fencing. Runway 14/32 is sealed and has pilot-activated low-intensity lighting, and runway 05/23 is black silt clay. The entry warns that a bird hazard may exist, and lists Telstra mobile network coverage at the aerodrome.

Under passenger facilities, the same entry lists a public telephone, a passenger lounge, toilets and accommodation.

Direct domestic flights recorded from Winton Aerodrome

Direct domestic flights recorded from Winton Aerodrome go to the places below, each flown by Rex.

Destination	Airport	Airline recorded
Longreach	Longreach Airport (LRE)	Rex
Townsville	Townsville Airport (TSV)	Rex

Queensland Government regulation of the Rex service

Winton is on the Northern 1 regulated air route (Townsville-Winton-Longreach) of the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, and Rex operates it. The department says it regulates routes where demand is too low for them to be commercially viable for operators, and that after an extension 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 Winton

Check-in, boarding and identification

Rex says its airport check-in desk closes 30 minutes before scheduled departure at regional Queensland airports other than Burketown, and it recommends presenting checked bags 60 minutes before. The boarding gate closes 15 minutes before departure at regional airports, and a passenger who is 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 have to check in at the airport.

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

Baggage and the cabin

For regional services operated by the Saab 340 turboprop, Rex's baggage page allows 7 kg of carry-on baggage on all fares, and 15 kg or 23 kg of checked baggage, depending on the fare. Carry-on bags may be weighed and measured, and one over the limit at the gate is offloaded, sent on the next available flight as checked baggage, and left for you to collect from the airport. Check Rex's baggage page before you pack.

Rex's access plan describes the Saab 340 as a single-aisle aircraft with one seat on the left of each row and two on the right, and some aircraft have four seats in the rear row. Rex says its 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 has passengers boarding the 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. It 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 departure.

When Rex flights are disrupted

Rex's conditions of carriage name 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 warns that, because some regional airports have limited facilities, refreshments may not always be available during a delay.

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 Winton and into town from the aerodrome

The Experience Winton tourism site puts the airport 5 km from town and says you will need an airport pick-up, to be checked with your accommodation. The Airservices entry lists no taxi, hire car or bus to town among its passenger facilities.

The same site says hire cars are available in Longreach, 178 km from Winton. By road, you do not need a four-wheel drive to reach Winton, as the highways are sealed, and there are several fuel outlets in town. Electric vehicle charging, including a fast charger, is at the Eric Lenton Memorial Recreation Grounds, 121 Vindex Street, operated through the Chargefox app as part of the Queensland Electric Superhighway.

Experience Winton says Queensland Rail's Spirit of the Outback travel train runs between Brisbane and Longreach, with a rail coach link to Winton, and that Greyhound coaches between Brisbane and Mount Isa stop in Winton for a meal break. For fuel supply updates, Experience Winton points to the Winton Shire Council Disaster Management Dashboard.

Winton town

The council says the Koa (Guwa) are Aboriginal people and native title holders of land in the Upper Diamantina River catchment, an area that includes the towns of Winton, Kynuna, Corfield and Middleton.

The council's About Winton page says Robert Allen arrived from Aramac in 1875, and the settlement was named Winton after the suburb of Bournemouth, England, where he was born. Winton was gazetted as a town on 5 July 1879. A.B. "Banjo" Paterson's "Waltzing Matilda" was written at nearby Dagworth Station in 1895 and first performed at Winton's North Gregory Hotel.

Winton is 472 km south-east of Mount Isa and about 1,353 km from Brisbane, the council says.

Waltzing Matilda Centre

The council describes the Waltzing Matilda Centre, at 50 Elderslie Street, as "the first museum in the world dedicated to a song". Its Waltzing Matilda Museum tells the story behind Paterson's ballad, and the Centre also holds the Qantilda Museum, which covers the 1891 Shearers' Strike, as well as Christina Macpherson's Cottage, a Shearing Shed, machinery and vehicle sheds, an exhibition space for First World War stories and the Outback Regional Gallery. There is a gift shop, the Tuckerbox Cafe and the Winton Visitor Information Centre (07 4657 1466).

The council lists the Centre as open all year except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. From April to September it opens every day from 9am to 5pm (9am to 3pm on public holidays), and from October to March it opens 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 3pm on weekends and public holidays. The council also lists one-hour guided tours of the exhibition with a local Savannah Guide; check the hours before you go.

The dinosaur sites

Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History

The Museum is on the Jump-Up mesa, 24 km south-east of Winton and about a 30-minute drive, and it can be visited only by guided tour. It says it holds the world's largest collection of Australia's largest dinosaur fossils, and its facilities are the Fossil Preparation Laboratory, the Collection Room and Dinosaur Canyon, alongside the Gondwana Stars Observatory and the Cretaceous Cafe. The Museum says most public areas are wheelchair accessible.

The Museum's schedule has it open Tuesday to Saturday from 1 October to 19 December 2026, closed from 20 December 2026 to 11 January 2027, and open Tuesday to Saturday from 12 January to 31 May 2027. Its hours are 8.30am to 5pm, it closes on all public holidays except Easter Saturday, and it asks visitors to arrive at least 15 minutes before their tour.

The Museum and the council both describe the Jump-Up as Australia's first International Dark Sky Sanctuary. The Museum runs a Deep-Time Astronomy tour at its Gondwana Stars Observatory.

Dinosaur Stampede National Monument at Lark Quarry

The council puts the Dinosaur Stampede National Monument 110 km south-west of Winton, in Lark Quarry Conservation Park. It describes the trackways, at roughly 95 million years old, as "the only confirmed evidence of a dinosaur stampede in the world", and says that in 2004 they were "one of the first three inductees into Australia's National Heritage List".

The road from Winton is 75 km sealed and 35 km unsealed, though the council calls it well maintained, and the Museum puts the drive at about an hour and a half. Food and drinks are available at the cafe, and the council says fuel is only available in Winton.

The council's schedule has the site open from 9am to 3.15pm, closed on Sundays and Mondays, from 1 October to 30 November 2026, then closed from 1 December 2026 to 31 January 2027. It is also closed on all public holidays.

Australia's Dinosaur Trail

The council's Dinosaur Trail links Hughenden, Richmond and Winton. Beside Winton's two sites, it takes in the Flinders Discovery Centre in Hughenden and Kronosaurus Korner in Richmond.

Bladensburg National Park

The Queensland Government's parks site puts Bladensburg National Park 17 km south-west of Winton, with views from flat-topped mesas and plateaus, residual sandstone ranges, grassland plains and river flats. Its listed facilities are tent and camper trailer camping, toilets, a lookout, walking and hiking, a scenic drive, and campfires, with conditions. The Queensland Government's parks site says the Bough Shed Waterhole camping and day-use area is closed until further notice, after floodwaters damaged the site in March 2025.

Questions about Winton Aerodrome

Who runs Winton Aerodrome?

Winton Shire Council, PO Box 288, Winton, Queensland 4735, phone 07 4657 2666. The council lists its aerodrome caretakers on 07 4657 1195.

How do you get from Winton Aerodrome into town?

Experience Winton puts the airport 5 km from town and says you will need an airport pick-up, to be checked with your accommodation. The Airservices entry lists no taxi, hire car or bus to town.

What passenger facilities does Winton Aerodrome have?

The Airservices aerodrome entry lists a public telephone, a passenger lounge, toilets and accommodation. It lists Telstra mobile network coverage at the aerodrome.

Does Winton 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.