Planes overhead in EC4R
City of London, London. All 42 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, council by council.
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 EC4R. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 47% of days
Up to 1
a day
Of its 42 postcodes:
- under 10
- 42
On a day it flies both ways, 18% of days
Up to 28
a day
Of its 42 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 28
- on an edge
- 14
On a day it flies east, 35% of days
Up to 63
a day
Of its 42 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 32
- on an edge
- 10
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC4R 012 postcodes | 12 under 10 | 12 at 10 to 99 | 12 at 10 to 99 |
| EC4R 18 postcodes | 8 under 10 | 1 at 10 to 99 | 1 at 10 to 99 |
| EC4R 27 postcodes | 7 under 10 | 7 on an edge | 4 at 10 to 99 |
| EC4R 38 postcodes | 8 under 10 | 8 at 10 to 99 | 8 at 10 to 99 |
| EC4R 97 postcodes | 7 under 10 | 7 at 10 to 99 | 7 at 10 to 99 |
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 EC4R. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 56% of days
Up to 38
a day
Of its 42 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 42
On a day it flies both ways, 15% of days
Up to 27
a day
Of its 42 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 42
On a day it flies east, 29% of days
Up to 1
a day
Of its 42 postcodes:
- under 10
- 42
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC4R 012 postcodes | 12 at 10 to 99 | 12 at 10 to 99 | 12 under 10 |
| EC4R 18 postcodes | 8 at 10 to 99 | 8 at 10 to 99 | 8 under 10 |
| EC4R 27 postcodes | 7 at 10 to 99 | 7 at 10 to 99 | 7 under 10 |
| EC4R 38 postcodes | 8 at 10 to 99 | 8 at 10 to 99 | 8 under 10 |
| EC4R 97 postcodes | 7 at 10 to 99 | 7 at 10 to 99 | 7 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.
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 EC4R
EC4N EC3V EC3R EC2R EC3M EC2V EC2N EC4V
The councils
Where these figures come from
Counted from community flight tracking, checked against the CAA's monthly totals for London City and 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.