Millions of people live beneath Heathrow’s flight paths. Because the airport sits so close to the capital, aircraft movements are felt across large parts of London — but planes do not fly over the city every day.
Which areas are overflown depends largely on wind direction. For safety and performance, aircraft land into the wind. This means that changes in wind direction determine where arriving aircraft approach the airport from — and which communities experience overflights.
Subscribers to Planes Over London get access to a 14-day forecast showing whether Heathrow arrivals are likely to pass over London or approach from the west instead. The forecast is based on weather data and typical runway use patterns, and is designed to help people understand when overflights are more or less likely. Use the map to see where you are in relation to Heathrow and its approach paths.
When the wind blows from the west, aircraft land into the wind and approach Heathrow over London. This is the most common operating pattern, with arrivals overflying the city around 70% of the time — but not constantly, and not every day. This is called WESTERLY operations. When the airport is on westerly operations, the landing and take-off runway switch at 3pm in the afternoon, to give those living under the flight path a rest bite.
If you live in the Windsor and Eton area, overflights occur when the wind blows from the east. In these conditions, aircraft land into the wind and approach Heathrow from the west, passing over Windsor and nearby communities while largely avoiding London. These easterly operations occur around 30% of the time. Unlike westerly operations, Heathrow does not currently alternate runways when operating easterly, with most landings using the northern runway (09L/27R). This arrangement dates back to the Cranford Agreement and is due to change in 2028, when easterly runway alternation is introduced.
Heathrow operates two parallel runways that run east-west, like an equals sign (=). A runway's name is dependent on the direction it is approached from (either 90° or 270°, divided by ten for brevity), and suffixed by ‘Left’ or ‘Right’ - hence the north runway is referred to as either 09L or 27R, and the south 09R or 27L.
For more on the Runway Alternation Programme, Heathrow Airport provide more details*.
Questions, comments or support queries about this project you can get in touch with us here.