Planes overhead in EC3N
City of London and Tower Hamlets, London. All 81 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 EC3N. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (47% of days): up to 1 a day; of its 81 postcodes, 81 under 10
- On a day it flies both ways (18% of days): up to 29 a day; of its 81 postcodes, 67 at 10 to 99, 14 on an edge
- On a day it flies east (35% of days): up to 63 a day; of its 81 postcodes, 76 at 10 to 99, 5 on an edge
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC3N 127 postcodes | 27 under 10 | 15 at 10 to 9912 on an edge | 22 at 10 to 995 on an edge |
| EC3N 231 postcodes | 31 under 10 | 29 at 10 to 992 on an edge | 31 at 10 to 99 |
| EC3N 38 postcodes | 8 under 10 | 8 at 10 to 99 | 8 at 10 to 99 |
| EC3N 415 postcodes | 15 under 10 | 15 at 10 to 99 | 15 at 10 to 99 |
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 EC3N. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (56% of days): up to 55 a day; of its 81 postcodes, 81 at 10 to 99
- On a day it flies both ways (15% of days): up to 38 a day; of its 81 postcodes, 81 at 10 to 99
- On a day it flies east (29% of days): up to 1 a day; of its 81 postcodes, 81 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC3N 127 postcodes | 27 at 10 to 99 | 27 at 10 to 99 | 27 under 10 |
| EC3N 231 postcodes | 31 at 10 to 99 | 31 at 10 to 99 | 31 under 10 |
| EC3N 38 postcodes | 8 at 10 to 99 | 8 at 10 to 99 | 8 under 10 |
| EC3N 415 postcodes | 15 at 10 to 99 | 15 at 10 to 99 | 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 EC3N
EC3M EC3A EC3R EC3V EC2N EC4R EC2M 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.