Flights at Gatwick Airport are diverted and delayed after a suspected drone was spotted near the runway

Gatwick was closed for over an hour after reports of a drone flying over the airport – sparking security fears.

Flights were grounded and aircraft circled after up to three sightings.

Takeoffs and landings were halted for just under an hour and 12 aircraft were diverted to other airports.

The airlift was closed from 1:44 p.m. to 2:35 p.m. on Sunday.

Operations at London Gatwick were temporarily suspended while investigations took place

A spokesman for Gatwick said: ‘Passenger safety is the airport’s absolute priority and – as per established procedures – operations at London Gatwick were temporarily suspended while an investigation was conducted into the sighting of a suspected drone near the airport .

“These investigations have now been completed and the airport is open again.

“Five incoming aircraft were diverted to other airports during the investigation, but we expect these to return to London Gatwick shortly.”

It comes just a week after it was revealed that an easyJet plane traveling at more than 300mph missed a suspected drone just 5 meters above the Sussex countryside.

The incredibly close call took place at an altitude of 5,000 feet, just three minutes after the Airbus A320 took off from Gatwick for a flight to Basel, Switzerland.

Drones are normally limited to flying up to 400 feet, meaning a drone at 5000 feet would be more than 12 times the maximum legal height

Drone activity at Gatwick caused about 1,000 canceled or diverted flights between December 19 and 21, 2018.

A report from the UK Airprox Board, the official body for assessing near misses, found that the pilots initially thought the object was a bird before concluding it was a drone being flown illegally.

The pilots immediately notified air traffic controllers, who broadcast a warning to other aircraft departing from Gatwick.

It is believed the drone may have been flown by a rogue operator who wanted to capture dramatic video footage of a plane flying by.

There could have been catastrophic consequences if the device had lodged in one of the jet’s engines or shattered the cockpit screen.

Drones are normally limited to flying up to 400 feet, meaning the suspected drone may have been at more than 12 times the maximum legal height.

Investigators could not confirm that the object was a drone due to a lack of evidence other than the two pilots’ account.

Had a drone operator been identified, they could have been convicted of endangering an aircraft and faced up to five years in prison.

The incident happened at 3:21pm on February 24 as the jet was climbing to its cruising altitude in an area just north of Uckfield, East Sussex.

This is not the first time Gatwick has been targeted by suspected drones.

Activity at Gatwick saw around 1,000 flights canceled or diverted between December 19 and 21 in 2018.

No culprit was found and there was criticism of the amount of time it took to get the runway reopened at West Sussex Airport.