Thomson / McDuffie County Airport (KHQU), Georgia
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Thomson / McDuffie County Airport, KHQU, is a non-towered public-use field in Thomson, Georgia, sitting at 501 feet elevation and roughly 74 nautical miles from the Augusta metro area. The airport serves as a business aviation waypoint in the region, with a single paved runway handling all traffic and fuel service available on a published daily schedule. Several general aviation neighbors, including Daniel Field and Augusta Regional at Bush Field, sit within about 30 nautical miles.
Runways
Thomson / McDuffie County Airport has one paved runway, 10/28, 5,514 ft long and 100 ft wide, with an asphalt surface.
Runway geometry from published threshold coordinates. Not for navigation.
Source: FAA Form 5010.
Fuel and airfield services
Thomson / McDuffie County Airport has Jet A+ and 100LL available on the field. Fueling is available from 8am to 5pm, daily, and the airport has no control tower.
Source: FAA Form 5010 / NASR.
Customs
Thomson / McDuffie County Airport does not clear customs. The nearest port of entry is Columbia Metro (KCAE), 74 NM away.
Source: CBP list of ports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
Thomson / McDuffie County Airport recorded 872 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in April. Business aviation traffic at KHQU is heavily concentrated in April, which sees far more operations than any other month of the year.
Business jet movements, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month April, 465 movements in 2025.
Source: FAA TFMSC, business jet movements, 2025.
Climate
Thomson / McDuffie County Airport averages 22.4 days above 90°F in July and 12.2 freeze days in January. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 91.4°F, and January the coldest, at 56.7°F.
Weather station is 5.1 NM from the field. Some values are estimated by the agency. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: NOAA NCEI.
Operating constraints
Thomson / McDuffie County Airport has published operating constraints in four categories: access, runway notes, environmental and other notes.
For clearance delivery, contact Augusta Approach; when Approach is closed, contact Atlanta ARTCC instead.
PAPI for runway 10 and runway 28, and HIRL for runway 10/28, are pilot-activated via CTAF.
There are 50-foot trees located 480 feet right of the runway centerline, at ground level, 200 feet from the runway end.
Deer are present on the runway at night.
An RCO relay frequency of 124.45 is available for ground use.
Source: FAA Chart Supplement.
Nearby airfields
Thomson / McDuffie County Airport has five airfields within 34 NM. The closest is Washington / Wilkes County (KIIY), 21.08 NM northwest.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at KHQU
We arrange catering, fuel and trip support here. Supplier prices reach you unchanged; our coordination fee sits on its own line.
The same order, priced two ways.
$2,400.00 catering order at KHQU.
Unchanged.
What the kitchen invoices us is what your quote reads.
One line, fixed.
It does not move with the size of the order.
At cost.
Passed on at the exact amount the processor took.
Market practice figures are industry averages, not a specific competitor.
Frequently asked questions
Is fuel available at KHQU, Thomson / McDuffie County Airport?
Thomson / McDuffie County Airport, KHQU, stocks both 100LL and Jet A fuel, with the Jet A grade noted as A+ in airport records. Fuel service aligns with the field's attendance schedule, which runs daily from 0800 to 1700 local time. Outside those hours, the field operates as an unattended, non-towered airport. Dispatchers planning arrivals or departures near the edges of that window should confirm fuel availability directly with field personnel before finalizing a fuel plan.
Does KHQU have air traffic control?
KHQU, Thomson / McDuffie County Airport, is a non-towered airport, so pilots use CTAF for self-announced traffic coordination on the single runway. Airport remarks direct clearance delivery calls to Augusta Approach, and when that approach facility is closed, to Atlanta ARTCC instead. An RCO relay frequency of 124.45 is also available for ground use. Dispatchers should plan communications accordingly, since no local tower exists to sequence traffic or issue clearances directly at the field.
What runway configuration does Thomson / McDuffie County Airport offer?
Thomson / McDuffie County Airport, identified as KHQU, has a single paved runway, 10/28, measuring 5,514 feet long and 100 feet wide with an asphalt surface. This is the airport's only runway, so all arriving and departing traffic uses this one strip regardless of wind direction. The runway's length matches the airport's listed maximum paved distance, confirming it as the primary operational surface for the field. Pilots should check current PAPI and HIRL lighting status on CTAF before night operations, since obstacle clearance near the runway ends is a factor.
How busy is business aviation traffic at KHQU throughout the year?
Business aviation traffic at KHQU, Thomson / McDuffie County Airport, totaled 872 operations in 2025 according to FAA TFMSC data, out of 1,277 annual operations overall. Traffic is heavily concentrated in April, which recorded 465 business aviation operations compared to well under 70 in every other month. The remaining months show relatively flat, low-volume activity, mostly in the 15 to 65 operations range. Dispatchers scheduling flights into KHQU outside of April should expect a quieter field with lighter ramp and fuel demand.
Where is the nearest customs facility to KHQU, Thomson / McDuffie County Airport?
KHQU, Thomson / McDuffie County Airport, does not have onsite customs processing. The nearest customs-equipped airport is KCAE, located approximately 74 nautical miles away. Flight crews requiring customs clearance on international itineraries should plan to route through KCAE rather than expecting service at Thomson / McDuffie County directly. This distance should factor into fuel and routing planning for any flight that needs to clear customs before or after a stop at KHQU.