Flights at Heathrow Airport, the busiest airport in Europe, were briefly disrupted on Wednesday following a suspected drone sighting near the airfield.

At least one arriving flight was affected. Swiss flight LX324 from Zurich diverted to Gatwick Airport after holding in the airspace for nearly half an hour, according to data from Flightradar24. Pilots ultimately opted to reroute to the Sussex airport as a precaution.

A Heathrow spokesperson said operations had been temporarily paused but have since resumed. “Flights are continuing as normal after a brief pause to operations, following a suspected drone sighting,” the spokesperson said, adding that the airport would continue to monitor the situation in coordination with police and airline partners to ensure safety.

The incident comes amid a wider increase in suspected drone activity around major European airports. In recent months, similar sightings have led to temporary flight disruptions at airports in Vilnius and Brussels, raising ongoing concerns about aviation safety and the growing challenge of managing unauthorized drones near critical infrastructure.

While delays at Heathrow were limited, the episode highlights how even short-lived security alerts can ripple through one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs, where thousands of flights pass through each day.