Gatwick workers today welcomed news that airline Virgin Atlantic is to create 1,700 jobs - the day after rival British Airways revealed plans to axe 1,000 posts there.

The Virgin jobs, part of an expansion by the airline, will be split between Gatwick and Heathrow.

Sir Richard Branson's airline plans to build up its fleet and take on at least 1,000 new cabin crew and more than 250 pilots.

Another 450 staff will be recruited as airport workers, ground crew, in the reservations and administration departments and in the company's holiday business.

The airline said it could not reveal how many of the new jobs would be at Gatwick.

Virgin Atlantic Airways recently announced it would run new routes, including flights to Toronto - which will start in the spring - and increase the frequency of flights to Delhi, Cape Town and Chicago.

The company has already increased the frequency of flights to San Francisco and Shanghai.

It currently flies to 20 destinations and has a fleet of 32 aircraft.

Sir Richard said: "There will be opportunities for pilots, cabin crew, ground crew and airport staff, based both at Gatwick and Heathrow."

Virgin currently employs about 8,500 people, with about 2,700 of these based in the Crawley area around Gatwick.

Gary Smith, organiser for the GMB union, said: "The BA announcement was very difficult for all those concerned, particularly at this time of year. The news from Virgin is positive and we welcome job creation. We would be interested to see where the jobs will be."

Roger Maskell, national officer for the Amalgamated Engineering Union, which represents 60 per cent of Virgin cabin crew, said: "This is a fantastic boost to both Gatwick and Virgin.

"There will be plenty of new opportunities for people already in Virgin and those who want to join. We look forward to working with the continuing Virgin success."

On Wednesday, BA said it needed to restructure its business and the job losses would enable it to boost profitability. It plans to reduce long-haul destinations from 43 to about 25.