Planes overhead in EC1Y
Islington and City of London, London. All 160 of its postcodes measured (14 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 City of London and the planes over Islington, 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 EC1Y. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 56% of days
Up to 24
a day
Of its 160 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 160
On a day it flies both ways, 15% of days
Up to 18
a day
Of its 160 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 160
On a day it flies east, 29% of days
Up to 1
a day
Of its 160 postcodes:
- under 10
- 160
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC1Y 052 postcodes | 52 at 10 to 99 | 52 at 10 to 99 | 52 under 10 |
| EC1Y 19 postcodes | 9 at 10 to 99 | 9 at 10 to 99 | 9 under 10 |
| EC1Y 29 postcodes | 9 at 10 to 99 | 9 at 10 to 99 | 9 under 10 |
| EC1Y 49 postcodes | 9 at 10 to 99 | 9 at 10 to 99 | 9 under 10 |
| EC1Y 881 postcodes | 81 at 10 to 99 | 81 at 10 to 99 | 81 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. 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 EC1Y
EC2Y EC1V EC2A EC1M EC1A EC2M EC2V EC2R
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.