Planes overhead in NW5
Camden and Islington, London. All 610 of its postcodes measured (285 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 Camden, 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 NW5. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 56% of days
Up to 59
a day
Of its 610 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 574
- under 10
- 36
On a day it flies both ways, 15% of days
Up to 45
a day
Of its 610 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 478
- under 10
- 132
On a day it flies east, 29% of days
Up to 15
a day
Of its 610 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 132
- under 10
- 478
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NW5 1179 postcodes | 179 at 10 to 99 | 179 at 10 to 99 | 67 at 10 to 99 |
| NW5 2192 postcodes | 192 at 10 to 99 | 171 at 10 to 99 | 192 under 10 |
| NW5 3100 postcodes | 70 at 10 to 99 | 16 at 10 to 99 | 100 under 10 |
| NW5 4139 postcodes | 133 at 10 to 99 | 112 at 10 to 99 | 65 at 10 to 99 |
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 NW5
N19 N7 NW3 NW1 N1C N6 NW8 WC1H
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.