Planes overhead in WC1A
Camden and Islington, London. All 147 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 WC1A. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (56% of days): up to 11 a day; of its 147 postcodes, 54 at 10 to 99, 93 under 10
- On a day it flies both ways (15% of days): up to 8 a day; of its 147 postcodes, 147 under 10
- On a day it flies east (29% of days): up to 2 a day; of its 147 postcodes, 147 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WC1A 144 postcodes | 44 under 10 | 44 under 10 | 44 under 10 |
| WC1A 249 postcodes | 49 under 10 | 49 under 10 | 49 under 10 |
| WC1A 954 postcodes | 54 at 10 to 99 | 54 under 10 | 54 under 10 |
Also counted here: London City, at most 1 a day over any of its postcodes.
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 WC1A
WC1N WC1R WC1V WC1B WC2B WC2A EC1N WC1X
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.