Planes overhead in WC2R
Westminster and Islington, London. All 105 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 WC2R. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (56% of days): up to 17 a day; of its 105 postcodes, 105 at 10 to 99
- On a day it flies both ways (15% of days): up to 12 a day; of its 105 postcodes, 60 at 10 to 99, 45 under 10
- On a day it flies east (29% of days): up to 2 a day; of its 105 postcodes, 105 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WC2R 055 postcodes | 55 at 10 to 99 | 14 at 10 to 9941 under 10 | 55 under 10 |
| WC2R 124 postcodes | 24 at 10 to 99 | 21 at 10 to 993 under 10 | 24 under 10 |
| WC2R 210 postcodes | 10 at 10 to 99 | 10 at 10 to 99 | 10 under 10 |
| WC2R 316 postcodes | 16 at 10 to 99 | 15 at 10 to 991 under 10 | 16 under 10 |
Also counted here: London City, at most 1 a day over any of its postcodes.
1 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 WC2R
WC2E WC2B WC2N WC2A EC4Y WC2H WC1V EC4A
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.