Planes overhead in EC2A
Hackney, Islington and City of London, London. All 284 of its postcodes measured (53 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 Hackney 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 EC2A. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 56% of days
Up to 31
a day
Of its 284 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 284
On a day it flies both ways, 15% of days
Up to 23
a day
Of its 284 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 284
On a day it flies east, 29% of days
Up to 1
a day
Of its 284 postcodes:
- under 10
- 284
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC2A 118 postcodes | 18 at 10 to 99 | 18 at 10 to 99 | 18 under 10 |
| EC2A 250 postcodes | 50 at 10 to 99 | 50 at 10 to 99 | 50 under 10 |
| EC2A 398 postcodes | 98 at 10 to 99 | 98 at 10 to 99 | 98 under 10 |
| EC2A 4118 postcodes | 118 at 10 to 99 | 118 at 10 to 99 | 118 under 10 |
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 EC2A
EC2M EC1Y EC2Y EC2N EC2R EC3A EC1V EC2V
The councils
- Hackney: noise and liveability score
- Islington: noise and liveability score
- City of London: noise and liveability score
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.