Planes overhead in SM3
Sutton and Merton, London. 366 of its 368 postcodes measured, the ones in Sutton and Merton (11 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 SM3. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 56% of days
Up to 65
a day
Of its 366 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 366
On a day it flies both ways, 15% of days
Up to 40
a day
Of its 366 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 366
On a day it flies east, 29% of days
Up to 2
a day
Of its 366 postcodes:
- under 10
- 366
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SM3 8156 postcodes | 156 at 10 to 99 | 156 at 10 to 99 | 156 under 10 |
| SM3 9210 postcodes | 210 at 10 to 99 | 210 at 10 to 99 | 210 under 10 |
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 SM3
SM1 KT4 SM2 SM4 SM5 KT3 SW20 SM6
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.