Planes overhead in SM6
Sutton, London. All 733 of its postcodes measured (23 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 SM6. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
On a day it flies west, 56% of days
Up to 131
a day
Of its 733 postcodes:
- 100 or more
- 302
- 10 to 99
- 431
On a day it flies both ways, 15% of days
Up to 75
a day
Of its 733 postcodes:
- 10 to 99
- 733
On a day it flies east, 29% of days
Up to 2
a day
Of its 733 postcodes:
- under 10
- 733
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SM6 0158 postcodes | 20 at 100+ | 158 at 10 to 99 | 158 under 10 |
| SM6 7167 postcodes | 161 at 100+ | 167 at 10 to 99 | 167 under 10 |
| SM6 8204 postcodes | 121 at 100+ | 204 at 10 to 99 | 204 under 10 |
| SM6 9204 postcodes | 204 at 10 to 99 | 204 at 10 to 99 | 204 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 SM6
SM5 SM1 SM2 CR8 CR2 CR0 CR4 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.