Planes overhead in E1W
Tower Hamlets, London. All 339 of its postcodes measured (94 PO boxes and other large-user postcodes left out), January to August 2026.
For Heathrow's expansion consultation, open until 22 December 2026: the planes over Tower Hamlets, council by council.
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 E1W. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 56% of days
Up to 108
a day
Of its 339 postcodes:
- 100 or more
- 62
- 10 to 99
- 277
On a day it flies both ways, 15% of days
Up to 69
a day
Of its 339 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 339
On a day it flies east, 29% of days
Up to 1
a day
Of its 339 postcodes:
- under 10
- 339
Each sector's bar splits its postcodes by how many planes pass over them a day; the figure above it counts those in the busiest band the sector reaches. The list above gives the whole district's counts.
| Sector | Flying west56% of days | Both ways15% of days | Flying east29% of days |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1W 170 postcodes | 70 at 10 to 99 | 70 at 10 to 99 | 70 under 10 |
| E1W 2127 postcodes | 11 at 100+ | 127 at 10 to 99 | 127 under 10 |
| E1W 3142 postcodes | 51 at 100+ | 142 at 10 to 99 | 142 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 E1W. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 47% of days
Up to 1
a day
Of its 339 postcodes:
- under 10
- 339
On a day it flies both ways, 18% of days
Up to 29
a day
Of its 339 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 238
- on an edge
- 79
- under 10
- 22
On a day it flies east, 35% of days
Up to 64
a day
Of its 339 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 282
- on an edge
- 56
- under 10
- 1
Each sector's bar splits its postcodes by how many planes pass over them a day; the figure above it counts those in the busiest band the sector reaches. The list above gives the whole district's counts.
| Sector | Flying west47% of days | Both ways18% of days | Flying east35% of days |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1W 170 postcodes | 70 under 10 | 40 at 10 to 99 | 52 at 10 to 99 |
| E1W 2127 postcodes | 127 under 10 | 73 at 10 to 99 | 90 at 10 to 99 |
| E1W 3142 postcodes | 142 under 10 | 125 at 10 to 99 | 140 at 10 to 99 |
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.
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. PO boxes and other postcodes for organisations that receive a lot of post are left out: they sit at a delivery office or a business, not at homes.
Near E1W
E1 SE16 EC3N EC3A EC3R EC3M EC3V EC2N
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.