Planes overhead in E20
Newham, Hackney, Waltham Forest and Tower Hamlets, London. All 233 of its postcodes measured (1 PO box or other large-user postcode left out), January to August 2026.
For Heathrow's expansion consultation, open until 22 December 2026: the planes over Newham, 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 E20. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 56% of days
Up to 182
a day
Of its 233 postcodes:
- 100 or more
- 233
On a day it flies both ways, 15% of days
Up to 105
a day
Of its 233 postcodes:
- 100 or more
- 60
- 10 to 99
- 173
On a day it flies east, 29% of days
Up to 1
a day
Of its 233 postcodes:
- under 10
- 233
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| E20 1200 postcodes | 200 at 100+ | 56 at 100+ | 200 under 10 |
| E20 28 postcodes | 8 at 100+ | 8 at 10 to 99 | 8 under 10 |
| E20 325 postcodes | 25 at 100+ | 4 at 100+ | 25 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 E20. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 47% of days
Up to 62
a day
Of its 233 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 233
On a day it flies both ways, 18% of days
Up to 35
a day
Of its 233 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 233
On a day it flies east, 35% of days
Up to 1
a day
Of its 233 postcodes:
- under 10
- 233
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| E20 1200 postcodes | 200 at 10 to 99 | 200 at 10 to 99 | 200 under 10 |
| E20 28 postcodes | 8 at 10 to 99 | 8 at 10 to 99 | 8 under 10 |
| E20 325 postcodes | 25 at 10 to 99 | 25 at 10 to 99 | 25 under 10 |
9 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 E20
The councils
- Newham: noise and liveability score
- Hackney: noise and liveability score
- Waltham Forest: noise and liveability score
- Tower Hamlets: noise and liveability score
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.