Planes overhead in SE1
Southwark and Lambeth, London. All 2,008 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 SE1. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (56% of days): up to 272 a day; of its 2,008 postcodes, 289 at 100+, 1,717 at 10 to 99, 2 on an edge
- On a day it flies both ways (15% of days): up to 155 a day; of its 2,008 postcodes, 93 at 100+, 1,913 at 10 to 99, 2 on an edge
- On a day it flies east (29% of days): up to 3 a day; of its 2,008 postcodes, 2,008 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE1 0177 postcodes | 1 at 100+176 at 10 to 99 | 177 at 10 to 99 | 177 under 10 |
| SE1 1165 postcodes | 6 at 100+159 at 10 to 99 | 165 at 10 to 99 | 165 under 10 |
| SE1 2222 postcodes | 4 at 100+218 at 10 to 99 | 222 at 10 to 99 | 222 under 10 |
| SE1 3244 postcodes | 17 at 100+227 at 10 to 99 | 244 at 10 to 99 | 244 under 10 |
| SE1 4235 postcodes | 4 at 100+231 at 10 to 99 | 235 at 10 to 99 | 235 under 10 |
| SE1 5248 postcodes | 241 at 100+7 at 10 to 99 | 93 at 100+155 at 10 to 99 | 248 under 10 |
| SE1 6160 postcodes | 3 at 100+157 at 10 to 99 | 160 at 10 to 99 | 160 under 10 |
| SE1 7213 postcodes | 5 at 100+206 at 10 to 992 on an edge | 211 at 10 to 992 on an edge | 213 under 10 |
| SE1 8181 postcodes | 181 at 10 to 99 | 181 at 10 to 99 | 181 under 10 |
| SE1 9163 postcodes | 8 at 100+155 at 10 to 99 | 163 at 10 to 99 | 163 under 10 |
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 SE1. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (47% of days): up to 1 a day; of its 2,008 postcodes, 2,008 under 10
- On a day it flies both ways (18% of days): up to 28 a day; of its 2,008 postcodes, 682 at 10 to 99, 380 on an edge, 946 under 10
- On a day it flies east (35% of days): up to 63 a day; of its 2,008 postcodes, 724 at 10 to 99, 350 on an edge, 934 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE1 0177 postcodes | 177 under 10 | 174 at 10 to 992 on an edge1 under 10 | 174 at 10 to 992 on an edge1 under 10 |
| SE1 1165 postcodes | 165 under 10 | 123 at 10 to 9936 on an edge6 under 10 | 135 at 10 to 9924 on an edge6 under 10 |
| SE1 2222 postcodes | 222 under 10 | 25 at 10 to 9956 on an edge141 under 10 | 29 at 10 to 9956 on an edge137 under 10 |
| SE1 3244 postcodes | 244 under 10 | 34 on an edge210 under 10 | 34 on an edge210 under 10 |
| SE1 4235 postcodes | 235 under 10 | 46 on an edge189 under 10 | 54 on an edge181 under 10 |
| SE1 5248 postcodes | 248 under 10 | 248 under 10 | 248 under 10 |
| SE1 6160 postcodes | 160 under 10 | 32 at 10 to 9965 on an edge63 under 10 | 32 at 10 to 9965 on an edge63 under 10 |
| SE1 7213 postcodes | 213 under 10 | 133 at 10 to 9945 on an edge35 under 10 | 154 at 10 to 9924 on an edge35 under 10 |
| SE1 8181 postcodes | 181 under 10 | 94 at 10 to 9967 on an edge20 under 10 | 98 at 10 to 9963 on an edge20 under 10 |
| SE1 9163 postcodes | 163 under 10 | 101 at 10 to 9929 on an edge33 under 10 | 102 at 10 to 9928 on an edge33 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.
12 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 SE1
SE17 EC4R EC3R EC4N EC3M EC3V EC4V EC3N
The councils
Where these figures come from
Counted from community flight tracking, checked against the CAA's monthly totals for Heathrow and London City. 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.