Speaking to the BBC, a spokesperson for the airport said operations were suspended just before 1.45pm but were resumed around 50 minutes later.
A dozen inbound aircraft were diverted to other airports during the incident.
"Passenger safety is the airport’s absolute priority and – following established procedures – operations at London Gatwick were suspended temporarily at 13:44 while investigations into the sighting of a suspected drone close to the airfield took place," the spokesperson added.
