British low-cost airline easyJet has begun recruiting 1,500 seasonal cabin crew members to fly between March and October 2022. Of these, 1100 of the jobs being advertised are set to be based in the UK alongside 250 seasonal crew who are set to return to the airline having operated last summer.

The drive comes as easyJet prepares to cover the expected rise in demand for passenger flights during summer 2022.

Johan Lundgren, easyJet CEO, said: “With the recovery underway, we are ready and able to seize opportunities and our seasonal crew are integral to this. As the largest UK airline, we are proud to employ thousands of people across the country, as well as in Europe, and have been delighted with the overwhelming response so far with more than 11,000 applicants for the 1500 crew roles. We are particularly pleased that, in line with our commitment to them, we will see many cadet pilots finally join us after they were delayed by the onset of the pandemic.”

“We will continue to take decisive action to capture additional opportunities alongside our planned organic growth. We look forward to bringing these crew onboard with us for summer, so we can offer the greatest choice and best value across our unrivalled European network, for leisure and business customers alike.”

Lundgren also said that easyJet was now ready to restart its popular cadet pilot programme with as many as 150 cadets set to start their training between January and April 2022. The first batch was meant to join the airline before the pandemic struck but have only now been invited back as the recovery ramps up.

EasyJet will expand its UK fleet with three more aircraft across its Bristol and Manchester bases for the summer 2022 season.

The Manchester base will have 20 aircraft based there connecting the North-West to key cities and holidays destinations across Europe.