Horn Island Airport

Horn Island Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorTorres Shire Council
LocationHorn Island, Queensland
Hub forTorres Strait Air

Cape Air Transport

Horizon Airways
Elevation AMSL43 ft (13 m)
Coordinates10°35′08″S 142°17′34″E / 10.5856°S 142.2927°E / -10.5856; 142.2927
Maps
YHID is located in Queensland
YHID
YHID
Location within Queensland
YHID is located in Australia
YHID
YHID
Location within Australia
YHID is located in Southeast Asia
YHID
YHID
Location within Southeast Asia
Interactive map of Horn Island Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
08/26 1,389 4,557 Asphalt
14/32 1,235 4,052 Asphalt
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart[1]

Horn Island Airport (IATA: HID, ICAO: YHID) is an airport on Horn Island in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia.[2] It is owned and operated by the Torres Shire Council and is also known as Ngurupai Airport.[3]

Domestic fixed wing charter flights and scheduled flights are carried out by SkyTrans, Hinterland Aviation, Cape Air Transport, Horizon Airways, and Torres Strait Air. The only International services are carried out by Torres Strait Air, with charter flights to Papua New Guinea.

History

Prior to 1939, Thursday Island (to the north-west of Horn Island) had a small airstrip on the north side of the island. It was 450 metres (1,480 ft) long and 15 metres (49 ft). As it was not possible to extend it, in 1939 it was decided that for both civilian and military purposes, a larger airstrip should be built on Horn Island.[4]

World War II

84 Squadron RAAF Kittyhawks on Horn Island, 1940

The Civil Constructional Corps and the Department of Main Roads began construction of an advanced operational airbase on the island during World War II, commencing in 1940. RAAF Base Horn Island was completed in 1941 and was used as a staging base for Allied aircraft moving between Australia and New Guinea.[5] The airfield consisted of two intersecting runways, with revetments for aircraft parking.

Japanese bombing raids against Horn Island Aerodrome

After Darwin, Horn Island was the second-most bombed area of Australia by the Japanese in World War II.[6]

  • 14 March 1942
  • 18 March 1942
  • 30 April 1942
  • 11 May 1942
  • 6 July 1942
  • 30 July 1942
  • 1 August 1942
  • 17 June 1943

Units based at Horn Island Aerodrome

The units were:

Memorial

The Horn Island Veterans Memorial in front of the airport commemorates the American and Australian servicemen who fought and died in the defence of Horn Island and the Torres Strait during World War II. It was designed by Vanessa Seekee OAM and Gordon Cameron OAM from local materials.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ YHID – Horn Island (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 9 July 2026, Aeronautical Chart Archived 10 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Layers: Locality; Road and rail; Railways; Railway stations; Aiports". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Horn Island (Ngurupai) Airport". Torres Shire Council. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Aerodrome History". Torres Shire Council. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "RAAF Base Horn Island". RAAF Museum.
  6. ↑ Nick Place, "Our secret war", Royal Auto, November 2015, p. 18
  7. ↑ "Horn Island Veterans Memorial". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
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