Planes overhead in EC4A
City of London, Islington and Westminster, London. All 110 of its postcodes measured, January to August 2026.
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 EC4A. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (56% of days): up to 17 a day; of its 110 postcodes, 110 at 10 to 99
- On a day it flies both ways (15% of days): up to 13 a day; of its 110 postcodes, 108 at 10 to 99, 2 under 10
- On a day it flies east (29% of days): up to 2 a day; of its 110 postcodes, 110 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC4A 135 postcodes | 35 at 10 to 99 | 35 at 10 to 99 | 35 under 10 |
| EC4A 223 postcodes | 23 at 10 to 99 | 22 at 10 to 991 under 10 | 23 under 10 |
| EC4A 335 postcodes | 35 at 10 to 99 | 34 at 10 to 991 under 10 | 35 under 10 |
| EC4A 417 postcodes | 17 at 10 to 99 | 17 at 10 to 99 | 17 under 10 |
Also counted here: London City, at most 2 a day over any of its postcodes.
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 EC4A
EC4Y WC2A EC1N EC1A EC4M WC1V WC1R EC4V
The councils
- City of London: noise and liveability score
- Islington: noise and liveability score
- Westminster: noise and liveability score
Where these figures come from
Counted from community flight tracking, checked against the CAA's monthly totals for 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.