Planes overhead in SM2
Sutton, London. 546 of its 582 postcodes measured, the ones in Sutton (9 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 Sutton, 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 SM2. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 56% of days
Up to 82
a day
Of its 546 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 546
On a day it flies both ways, 15% of days
Up to 48
a day
Of its 546 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 546
On a day it flies east, 29% of days
Up to 2
a day
Of its 546 postcodes:
- under 10
- 546
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SM2 5216 postcodes | 216 at 10 to 99 | 216 at 10 to 99 | 216 under 10 |
| SM2 6240 postcodes | 240 at 10 to 99 | 240 at 10 to 99 | 240 under 10 |
| SM2 790 postcodes | 90 at 10 to 99 | 90 at 10 to 99 | 90 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 SM2
SM1 SM3 SM5 SM6 KT4 SM4 CR5 CR8
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.