The Boeing 747 circled over southern England for several hours dumping fuel before making a bumpy but safe landing just before 16:00 GMT.
Gatwick's runway reopened at 19:03 GMT after being closed by the emergency.
Budget airline Easyjet said 12 of its flights due to land at Gatwick on Monday had been diverted and 32 due to depart from the airport had been cancelled.
In a statement, Gatwick Airport said: "The airport is now facilitating inbound and outbound flights but it will take some time for normal service to resume.
"We advise passengers to check with their airlines on the status of their flight. Updates will also be posted on the Gatwick website and on Twitter."
The statement said the airport was working with its airline partners to provide food, drink and welfare facilities to those affected by the delays and cancellations and volunteers were helping provide advice.
Arriving flights had been diverted to other London airports, while departing aircraft were severely delayed while the Virgin jet was being assessed on the runway.
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