Planes overhead in EC3A
City of London and Islington, London. All 66 of its postcodes measured, January to August 2026.
From London City
Planes land and take off into the wind, so the weather decides which way London City flies, and that decides how many pass over EC3A. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (47% of days): up to 1 a day; of its 66 postcodes, 66 under 10
- On a day it flies both ways (18% of days): up to 28 a day; of its 66 postcodes, 45 on an edge, 21 under 10
- On a day it flies east (35% of days): up to 61 a day; of its 66 postcodes, 1 at 10 to 99, 55 on an edge, 10 under 10
The table counts the postcodes of each sector by how many planes pass over them a day: 100 or more, 10 to 99, or under 10.
| Sector | Flying west47% of days | Both ways18% of days | Flying east35% of days |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC3A 11 postcode | 1 under 10 | 1 on an edge | 1 on an edge |
| EC3A 24 postcodes | 4 under 10 | 4 on an edge | 4 on an edge |
| EC3A 34 postcodes | 4 under 10 | 3 on an edge1 under 10 | 3 on an edge1 under 10 |
| EC3A 42 postcodes | 2 under 10 | 2 on an edge | 2 on an edge |
| EC3A 514 postcodes | 14 under 10 | 14 on an edge | 1 at 10 to 9913 on an edge |
| EC3A 66 postcodes | 6 under 10 | 3 on an edge3 under 10 | 3 on an edge3 under 10 |
| EC3A 720 postcodes | 20 under 10 | 10 on an edge10 under 10 | 17 on an edge3 under 10 |
| EC3A 815 postcodes | 15 under 10 | 8 on an edge7 under 10 | 12 on an edge3 under 10 |
From Heathrow
Planes land and take off into the wind, so the weather decides which way Heathrow flies, and that decides how many pass over EC3A. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (56% of days): up to 41 a day; of its 66 postcodes, 66 at 10 to 99
- On a day it flies both ways (15% of days): up to 29 a day; of its 66 postcodes, 64 at 10 to 99, 2 under 10
- On a day it flies east (29% of days): up to 2 a day; of its 66 postcodes, 66 under 10
The table counts the postcodes of each sector by how many planes pass over them a day: 100 or more, 10 to 99, or under 10.
| Sector | Flying west56% of days | Both ways15% of days | Flying east29% of days |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC3A 11 postcode | 1 at 10 to 99 | 1 at 10 to 99 | 1 under 10 |
| EC3A 24 postcodes | 4 at 10 to 99 | 4 at 10 to 99 | 4 under 10 |
| EC3A 34 postcodes | 4 at 10 to 99 | 3 at 10 to 991 under 10 | 4 under 10 |
| EC3A 42 postcodes | 2 at 10 to 99 | 2 at 10 to 99 | 2 under 10 |
| EC3A 514 postcodes | 14 at 10 to 99 | 14 at 10 to 99 | 14 under 10 |
| EC3A 66 postcodes | 6 at 10 to 99 | 6 at 10 to 99 | 6 under 10 |
| EC3A 720 postcodes | 20 at 10 to 99 | 20 at 10 to 99 | 20 under 10 |
| EC3A 815 postcodes | 15 at 10 to 99 | 14 at 10 to 991 under 10 | 15 under 10 |
On an edge: the postcode is on the edge of a flight path, where a few metres decide whether a plane counts as overhead, and the fewest and the most within 100 m of it fall in different bands.
What counts as overhead
Overhead means more than halfway up the sky (48.5 degrees or more) and below 7,000 ft, the CAA's definition of an overflight (CAP 1498). A day counts as one way when 80% of its flights used that way.
Near EC3A
EC3M EC2N EC3N EC3V EC3R EC2M EC2R EC4N
The councils
Where these figures come from
Counted from community flight tracking, checked against the CAA's monthly totals for London City and Heathrow. Flight tracks: adsb.lol (ODbL 1.0); Weather at each airport: Iowa Environmental Mesonet; Ground heights: Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right; Postcode positions: ONS National Statistics Postcode Lookup (OGL). Licence: Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0.