Planes overhead in M21
Manchester and Trafford, Greater Manchester. All 727 of its postcodes measured, January to August 2026.
From Manchester
Planes land and take off into the wind, so the weather decides which way Manchester flies, and that decides how many pass over M21. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (70% of days): up to 7 a day; of its 727 postcodes, 727 under 10
- On a day it flies both ways (10% of days): up to 39 a day; of its 727 postcodes, 657 at 10 to 99, 70 under 10
- On a day it flies east (20% of days): up to 75 a day; of its 727 postcodes, 727 at 10 to 99
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 west70% of days | Both ways10% of days | Flying east20% of days |
|---|---|---|---|
| M21 0145 postcodes | 145 under 10 | 114 at 10 to 9931 under 10 | 145 at 10 to 99 |
| M21 315 postcodes | 15 under 10 | 15 at 10 to 99 | 15 at 10 to 99 |
| M21 7197 postcodes | 197 under 10 | 197 at 10 to 99 | 197 at 10 to 99 |
| M21 8141 postcodes | 141 under 10 | 141 at 10 to 99 | 141 at 10 to 99 |
| M21 9229 postcodes | 229 under 10 | 190 at 10 to 9939 under 10 | 229 at 10 to 99 |
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 M21
M16 M32 M20 M14 M33 M23 M17 M19
The councils
Where these figures come from
Counted from community flight tracking, checked against the CAA's monthly totals for Manchester. 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.