Planes overhead in SM3
Sutton and Merton, London. 376 of its 379 postcodes measured, the ones in Sutton and Merton, 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 SM3. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (56% of days): up to 76 a day; of its 376 postcodes, 376 at 10 to 99
- On a day it flies both ways (15% of days): up to 45 a day; of its 376 postcodes, 376 at 10 to 99
- On a day it flies east (29% of days): up to 2 a day; of its 376 postcodes, 376 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SM3 8158 postcodes | 158 at 10 to 99 | 158 at 10 to 99 | 158 under 10 |
| SM3 9218 postcodes | 218 at 10 to 99 | 218 at 10 to 99 | 218 under 10 |
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 SM3
SM1 KT4 SM2 SM4 SM5 KT3 SW20 SM6
The councils
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.