Planes overhead in SM5
Sutton, London. 693 of its 694 postcodes measured, the ones in Sutton (13 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 SM5. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 56% of days
Up to 114
a day
Of its 693 postcodes:
- 100 or more
- 176
- 10 to 99
- 517
On a day it flies both ways, 15% of days
Up to 66
a day
Of its 693 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 693
On a day it flies east, 29% of days
Up to 2
a day
Of its 693 postcodes:
- under 10
- 693
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SM5 1194 postcodes | 194 at 10 to 99 | 194 at 10 to 99 | 194 under 10 |
| SM5 2218 postcodes | 145 at 100+ | 218 at 10 to 99 | 218 under 10 |
| SM5 3161 postcodes | 31 at 100+ | 161 at 10 to 99 | 161 under 10 |
| SM5 4120 postcodes | 120 at 10 to 99 | 120 at 10 to 99 | 120 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 SM5
SM1 SM6 SM2 SM3 SM4 CR4 KT4 CR7
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.