Airline Jet2 snaps up staff from defunctThomas Cook

PILOTS, engineers and cabin crew are among 120 former Thomas Cook employees taken on by Birminghambased tour operator Jet2.com.

The staff, who lost their jobs when Thomas Cook collapsed during the summer, will join Jet2 in time for the 2020 summer season.

Many of the workers will be based out of Jet2’s operation at Birmingham Airport where it operates a host of routes on behalf of the leisure airline and its holiday arm Jet2Holidays.

Despite having already appointed 120 ex-Thomas Cook employees, Jet2.com is continuing its recruitment drive and is busy holding assessment days across Birmingham.

The firm anticipates it could employ a further 50 pilots by the end of February 2020, taking the total number of exThomas Cook recruited pilots to more than 100. Over 20 engineers from Thomas Cook have accepted offers to join the company and planning is under way to fill a further 50 engineering posts. Almost 40 cabin crew from Thomas Cook have also been offered training at Jet2.com and it is still on the look-out for workers for its Birmingham base and at other centres around the country.

Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2. com, said: “We moved very quickly to help people during a difficult time, and we are delighted to appoint talented colleagues and welcome them to our award-winning team.

“We have focused specifically on hiring individuals who share our value of delivering a VIP customer service.

“With an ever-growing programme, with new destinations and more aircraft being added to our fleet, it is a very exciting time for Jet2.com and Jet2holidays.

“We expect to recruit even more exThomas Cook employees and look forward to welcoming them in the near future, as our company continues to grow.”