Planes overhead in WN2
Wigan and Bolton, Greater Manchester. All 1,274 of its postcodes measured, January to August 2026.
From Manchester
Planes land and take off into the wind, so the weather decides which way Manchester flies, and that decides how many pass over WN2. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (70% of days): up to 43 a day; of its 1,274 postcodes, 810 at 10 to 99, 464 under 10
- On a day it flies both ways (10% of days): up to 26 a day; of its 1,274 postcodes, 1,016 at 10 to 99, 258 under 10
- On a day it flies east (20% of days): up to 20 a day; of its 1,274 postcodes, 994 at 10 to 99, 280 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 west70% of days | Both ways10% of days | Flying east20% of days |
|---|---|---|---|
| WN2 1247 postcodes | 219 at 10 to 9928 under 10 | 137 at 10 to 99110 under 10 | 1 at 10 to 99246 under 10 |
| WN2 2220 postcodes | 220 at 10 to 99 | 220 at 10 to 99 | 186 at 10 to 9934 under 10 |
| WN2 3256 postcodes | 215 at 10 to 9941 under 10 | 249 at 10 to 997 under 10 | 256 at 10 to 99 |
| WN2 4301 postcodes | 156 at 10 to 99145 under 10 | 199 at 10 to 99102 under 10 | 301 at 10 to 99 |
| WN2 5250 postcodes | 250 under 10 | 211 at 10 to 9939 under 10 | 250 at 10 to 99 |
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 WN2
WN1 WN3 BL5 WN7 M46 WN4 BL6 WN6
The councils
Where these figures come from
Counted from community flight tracking, checked against the CAA's monthly totals for Manchester. 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.