Planes overhead in E6
Newham, London. All 889 of its postcodes measured (35 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 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 E6. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 56% of days
Up to 110
a day
Of its 889 postcodes:
- 100 or more
- 34
- 10 to 99
- 855
On a day it flies both ways, 15% of days
Up to 54
a day
Of its 889 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 888
- under 10
- 1
On a day it flies east, 29% of days
Up to 1
a day
Of its 889 postcodes:
- under 10
- 889
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| E6 1166 postcodes | 31 at 100+ | 166 at 10 to 99 | 166 under 10 |
| E6 2159 postcodes | 159 at 10 to 99 | 159 at 10 to 99 | 159 under 10 |
| E6 3195 postcodes | 3 at 100+ | 195 at 10 to 99 | 195 under 10 |
| E6 5188 postcodes | 188 at 10 to 99 | 188 at 10 to 99 | 188 under 10 |
| E6 6153 postcodes | 153 at 10 to 99 | 153 at 10 to 99 | 153 under 10 |
| E6 78 postcodes | 8 at 10 to 99 | 7 at 10 to 99 | 8 under 10 |
| E6 920 postcodes | 20 at 10 to 99 | 20 at 10 to 99 | 20 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 E6. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 47% of days
Under 1
a day, at all 889 of its postcodes
On a day it flies both ways, 18% of days
Up to 1
a day
Of its 889 postcodes:
- under 10
- 889
On a day it flies east, 35% of days
Up to 26
a day
Of its 889 postcodes:
- on an edge
- 1
- under 10
- 888
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| E6 1166 postcodes | 166 under 10 | 166 under 10 | 166 under 10 |
| E6 2159 postcodes | 159 under 10 | 159 under 10 | 159 under 10 |
| E6 3195 postcodes | 195 under 10 | 195 under 10 | 195 under 10 |
| E6 5188 postcodes | 188 under 10 | 188 under 10 | 188 under 10 |
| E6 6153 postcodes | 153 under 10 | 153 under 10 | 153 under 10 |
| E6 78 postcodes | 8 under 10 | 8 under 10 | 1 on an edge |
| E6 920 postcodes | 20 under 10 | 20 under 10 | 20 under 10 |
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 E6
E13 E16 E12 E7 IG11 E15 IG1 SE28
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.