Planes overhead in SW1P
Westminster and Wandsworth, London. All 752 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 SW1P. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (56% of days): up to 307 a day; of its 752 postcodes, 280 at 100+, 472 at 10 to 99
- On a day it flies both ways (15% of days): up to 170 a day; of its 752 postcodes, 280 at 100+, 472 at 10 to 99
- On a day it flies east (29% of days): up to 4 a day; of its 752 postcodes, 752 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SW1P 1140 postcodes | 45 at 100+95 at 10 to 99 | 45 at 100+95 at 10 to 99 | 140 under 10 |
| SW1P 2146 postcodes | 10 at 100+136 at 10 to 99 | 10 at 100+136 at 10 to 99 | 146 under 10 |
| SW1P 396 postcodes | 4 at 100+92 at 10 to 99 | 4 at 100+92 at 10 to 99 | 96 under 10 |
| SW1P 4160 postcodes | 11 at 100+149 at 10 to 99 | 11 at 100+149 at 10 to 99 | 160 under 10 |
| SW1P 9210 postcodes | 210 at 100+ | 210 at 100+ | 210 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 SW1P. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (47% of days): under 1 a day at all 752 of its postcodes
- On a day it flies both ways (18% of days): up to 13 a day; of its 752 postcodes, 2 on an edge, 750 under 10
- On a day it flies east (35% of days): up to 34 a day; of its 752 postcodes, 4 on an edge, 748 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SW1P 1140 postcodes | 140 under 10 | 140 under 10 | 140 under 10 |
| SW1P 2146 postcodes | 146 under 10 | 146 under 10 | 146 under 10 |
| SW1P 396 postcodes | 96 under 10 | 96 under 10 | 96 under 10 |
| SW1P 4160 postcodes | 160 under 10 | 2 on an edge158 under 10 | 4 on an edge156 under 10 |
| SW1P 9210 postcodes | 210 under 10 | 210 under 10 | 210 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.
3 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 SW1P
SW1V SW1H SW1E SW1W SW8 SE11 SW1A SW1X
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.