Planes overhead in SW8
Lambeth and Wandsworth, London. All 858 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 SW8. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (56% of days): up to 596 a day; of its 858 postcodes, 858 at 100+
- On a day it flies both ways (15% of days): up to 336 a day; of its 858 postcodes, 858 at 100+
- On a day it flies east (29% of days): up to 5 a day; of its 858 postcodes, 858 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SW8 1245 postcodes | 245 at 100+ | 245 at 100+ | 245 under 10 |
| SW8 2228 postcodes | 228 at 100+ | 228 at 100+ | 228 under 10 |
| SW8 3149 postcodes | 149 at 100+ | 149 at 100+ | 149 under 10 |
| SW8 4169 postcodes | 169 at 100+ | 169 at 100+ | 169 under 10 |
| SW8 551 postcodes | 51 at 100+ | 51 at 100+ | 51 under 10 |
| SW8 916 postcodes | 16 at 100+ | 16 at 100+ | 16 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 SW8. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (47% of days): up to 1 a day; of its 858 postcodes, 858 under 10
- On a day it flies both ways (18% of days): up to 28 a day; of its 858 postcodes, 190 at 10 to 99, 135 on an edge, 533 under 10
- On a day it flies east (35% of days): up to 62 a day; of its 858 postcodes, 211 at 10 to 99, 120 on an edge, 527 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SW8 1245 postcodes | 245 under 10 | 188 at 10 to 9957 on an edge | 209 at 10 to 9936 on an edge |
| SW8 2228 postcodes | 228 under 10 | 2 at 10 to 9972 on an edge154 under 10 | 2 at 10 to 9978 on an edge148 under 10 |
| SW8 3149 postcodes | 149 under 10 | 149 under 10 | 149 under 10 |
| SW8 4169 postcodes | 169 under 10 | 169 under 10 | 169 under 10 |
| SW8 551 postcodes | 51 under 10 | 6 on an edge45 under 10 | 6 on an edge45 under 10 |
| SW8 916 postcodes | 16 under 10 | 16 under 10 | 16 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 SW8
SW1P SW9 SW1V SW4 SE11 SW1W SW11 SW1E
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.