Being upfront I have little knowledge of aviation, and I'm here because I've come up short on google with unanswered questions.
I live and work in
this area of London and keep noticing really low flying commercial liners. Low enough that I can see the design on the fin. I've never noticed planes this low around here before and I've lived here for 15 years.
I also keep seeing a lot of what look (with my distinct lack of aviation knowledge) like cargo planes, with a uniform grey colour, 'T' shaped empennage and bloated bodies compared to passenger planes. Closest I can find for comparison is
this.
The commercial liners don't seem to have specific paths, but the cargo types all seem to be headed towards Stansted, or perhaps Mildenhall?
Has the air traffic itself or the way it gets handled in and around London changed recently?
Normally I'd regard all this with disinterest, but the sometimes 4/5 cargo planes (sometimes minutes apart) a day has piqued my curiosity.
Many thanks.