ONE of the region’s most popular airliners has launched a major recruitment drive, including a significant number of roles in the North-East.

Jet2.com is recruiting for around 1,000 positions nationwide, and has confirmed 90 of those jobs will be based at Newcastle Airport.

The airline is offering a range of roles including pilot, cabin crew and engineering positions.

Jet2.com is the fourth largest registered airline in the UK and has recently been voted the UK’s favourite airline by TripAdviser users.

The roles are targeted at experienced pilots with an existing commercial or military background, as well as engineers who are on hand 24/7 to ensure flights continue to operate safely.

The company is also looking for experienced engineers to work in office based roles, including powerplant, technical services, airworthiness and maintenance programmes.

Steve Heapy, chief executive officer at Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: “Our family-friendly formula is clearly working with customers and it means that we’re one of the UK’s fastest growing airlines.

“We have exciting plans to expand the number of destinations we fly to, as well as the number of UK bases we fly from, and this means that our team is growing all the time too.”

The new jobs provide some good news for Newcastle Airport, after it was revealed only weeks ago that it would lose its New York flights from next month, following weak demand and concerns following the EU referendum.

More than 33,000 people are understood to have used the transatlantic service during its two-year stint at the airport.

Jet2.com operates from eight UK airports and has 63 aircraft that fly to more than 200 destinations in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands and a number of European cities.

The company held a recruitment roadshow on Tuesday (August 30) in Newcastle to promote the new opportunities available within the company.

A spokesperson for Jet2.com said the roadshow provided “the perfect opportunity to meet members of the Jet2.com team and receive expert advice and information about the various roles with an informal chat.”

Mr Heapy added: “We were delighted to see so many pilots, engineers and aspiring cabin crew at our Newcastle roadshow.”

Earlier this month, Jet2.com became the first European airliner to ban the sale of alcohol on its flights before 8am, as part of a commitment to tackle disruptive and abusive behaviour.