Departure
96%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Bundaberg Airport (YBUD) serves the Queensland city of Bundaberg from a site about 2.5 nautical miles southwest of the city centre, and is notable both as a working regional airport with scheduled jet services and as a field steeped in wartime training history. For the visiting VFR pilot it offers a long sealed main runway alongside a shorter grass strip, making it a straightforward and interesting stop on the southern Great Barrier Reef coast.
Bundaberg Airport is a regional aerodrome owned and operated by Bundaberg Regional Council, serving the city of Bundaberg in Queensland, Australia. It combines scheduled airline operations with general aviation and flying training activity, and hosts one of the Royal Flying Doctor Service's Queensland bases. Its long history as a civil field and World War II training station, together with its connection to pioneering aviator Bert Hinkler, gives it a strong sense of place for pilots exploring Australian aviation heritage by simulator.
The airfield lies at coordinates 24.9039S 152.319E, at an elevation of 102 feet, roughly southwest of Bundaberg city centre on North Childers Road and Takalvan Street. Radio communications are provided under Brisbane Centre, with the field itself worked on a common traffic advisory frequency, placing it firmly within the broader Brisbane Flight Information Region.
Bundaberg has two physical runways. The main runway, 14/32, is 6,562 feet long, has a hard (asphalt) surface and is lit, making it suitable for larger aircraft including regional jets. The secondary runway, 07/25, is 3,690 feet long with a grass surface and is unlit, offering a shorter grass option for lighter aircraft. There is no ILS approach at the field.
Bundaberg is worked on CTAF 126.9 MHz. Flight Service (FSS) can be contacted on 124.1 MHz, and the field falls under Brisbane Centre for area air traffic services.
Bundaberg Airport was officially opened as a civilian aerodrome on 12 December 1931 by the Minister for Trade and Customs, Frank Forde. It was renamed Hinkler Airport in 1936 in honour of Bundaberg's pioneering aviator Bert Hinkler. With the outbreak of the Second World War the field was requisitioned as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and became RAAF Station Bundaberg, home to No. 12 Elementary Flying Training School RAAF from 1941 until its move to Lowood in January 1942, followed by No. 8 Service Flying Training School RAAF, which operated at the base from December 1941 to July 1945. Various RAAF squadrons and flights, including No. 32 Squadron, No. 66 Squadron and No. 71 Squadron, were also based there during the war, along with a Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force personnel and equipment pool in 1945 and 1946. The nearby Bundaberg General Cemetery contains the war graves of 46 Australian and five United States airmen and soldiers. The Department of Civil Aviation took over the aerodrome in July 1946, and Bundaberg Regional Council assumed control in June 1983. A new terminal opened in May 1986, and a major runway and terminal extension completed in March 2010 enabled the airport to handle jet aircraft such as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.
Bundaberg Airport continues to operate as a regional airport with scheduled services, historically including QantasLink and Link Airways flights to Brisbane, alongside general aviation activity. The Royal Flying Doctor Service maintains one of its Queensland bases at the field. The 2010 runway and terminal works were carried out specifically to allow larger jet airliners to use the airport, and it remains capable of handling this class of aircraft on its main runway.