Planes overhead in M33
Trafford and Manchester, Greater Manchester. All 1,555 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 M33. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (70% of days): up to 24 a day; of its 1,555 postcodes, 1,507 at 10 to 99, 48 under 10
- On a day it flies both ways (10% of days): up to 39 a day; of its 1,555 postcodes, 1,555 at 10 to 99
- On a day it flies east (20% of days): up to 71 a day; of its 1,555 postcodes, 1,555 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| M33 022 postcodes | 22 at 10 to 99 | 22 at 10 to 99 | 22 at 10 to 99 |
| M33 2311 postcodes | 263 at 10 to 9948 under 10 | 311 at 10 to 99 | 311 at 10 to 99 |
| M33 3299 postcodes | 299 at 10 to 99 | 299 at 10 to 99 | 299 at 10 to 99 |
| M33 4271 postcodes | 271 at 10 to 99 | 271 at 10 to 99 | 271 at 10 to 99 |
| M33 5280 postcodes | 280 at 10 to 99 | 280 at 10 to 99 | 280 at 10 to 99 |
| M33 6181 postcodes | 181 at 10 to 99 | 181 at 10 to 99 | 181 at 10 to 99 |
| M33 7191 postcodes | 191 at 10 to 99 | 191 at 10 to 99 | 191 at 10 to 99 |
1 of its postcodes have a position ONS estimates, so their figures may be for a spot a few hundred metres away.
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 M33
M23 M32 WA15 M21 WA14 M41 M17 M16
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.