Planes over London right now

Planes over London right now

At 16:58 local (16:58 UTC), 40 aircraft were airborne within 60 km of London, England, United Kingdom, 10 of them within 25 km of the city centre. The closest is HLE27 (EC35), 4 km ENE at 1,300 ft.

By height: 4 cruising at 20,000 ft or more (mostly passing over on the way somewhere else), 23 between 3,000 and 20,000 ft (typically climbing out or descending into a nearby airport) and 13 below 3,000 ft. Most of the traffic is arriving at or departing from airports around London.

Helicopters, military and low planes over London

1 helicopter is flying within 60 km. The nearest, HLE27 (EC35), is 4 km ENE at 1,300 ft. Police, air-ambulance, news and tour helicopters often fly low and slow over cities; ADS-B does not say which role a helicopter has, but the registration on the flight page usually tells you the operator.

No military aircraft are showing within 60 km. Military jets often fly without broadcasting, so "none visible" does not mean none flying.

2 aircraft are below 3,000 ft and not next to an airport: CES551 11 km WSW at 2,200 ft; EAU56D 24 km ESE at 2,275 ft. Low flying away from runways is usually helicopters, survey or banner flights, or traffic approaching a smaller airfield.

2 aircraft nearby use a privacy programme (PIA or LADD), so the owner asked for the identity to be hidden; the position is still shown.

• HLE27 · EC35 helicopter, 4 km ENE, 1,300 ft

Is a plane circling over London?

No aircraft is circling over London right now. GodsView checks every low aircraft near the city once a minute for a full turn or for staying within a few kilometres of one spot.

How busy is the sky over London?

With 10 aircraft within 25 km, London is busier than every nearby large cities right now. The busiest nearby sky is over Islington with 9 aircraft within 25 km.

Most low traffic around here is linked to London Heathrow (LHR), 23 km from the city centre; its live arrivals and departures are on the airport page.

• Planes over Islington 9 aircraft now
• Planes over Tottenham 7 aircraft now

ISS and bright satellites over London tonight

2 visible passes of the ISS, Tiangong or Hubble in the next 24 hours. The next starts at 03:46 local time in the W, peaks 82° above the WSW horizon and lasts about 7 minutes. A fast, steady, non-blinking light is a satellite, not a plane.

• ISS · 03:46 local visible, peak 82° WSW, 7 min
• ISS · 05:23 local visible, peak 80° S, 6 min
• CSS (WENTIAN) · 19:32 local not visible, peak 13° S, 3 min
• CSS (WENTIAN) · 21:09 local not visible, peak 12° S, 2 min
• ISS · 02:10 local not visible, peak 36° SSE, 6 min
• ISS · 07:00 local not visible, peak 29° SSW, 6 min

What plane is flying over me?

This page uses the centre of London. For the exact aircraft above your street, open "What's overhead" and share your location: it lists every aircraft near you with the direction and angle to look.

Aircraft broadcast their position by ADS-B and volunteer receivers relay it. Small drones, most military aircraft on missions and some police aircraft do not broadcast, so they never appear on any public tracker. Drone sightings cannot be checked here.

• What's flying over me (use my location)

Coverage: ADS-B from volunteer receivers. Within 60 km of a big city coverage is usually good above a few thousand feet; low helicopters can drop out between receivers. Circling detection uses positions sampled once a minute over the last 20 minutes.

Planes over nearby cities

• Planes over Islington
• Planes over Tottenham

More live data for London

• Live cameras in London
• Air quality by city
• Weather warnings by city
• Earthquakes near cities
• London Heathrow (LHR) arrivals and departures

Aviation

• Planes over cities worldwide
• Emergency squawks right now
• What's flying over me
• Live flight tracker
• Military flight tracker
• ISS tracker