Good news has followed bad at Gatwick. Only a day after British Airways announced it was shedding 1,000 jobs there, Virgin Atlantic has announced a recruitment drive.

Sir Richard Branson's airline is to take on more than 1,700 staff during the next year and many of them will be based at Gatwick. They include pilots, cabin crew, ground crew and other airport staff.

Some of the BA staff who do not want to move to Heathrow may be tempted to switch to Virgin and continue at Gatwick.

Virgin already has 2,700 employees in the Crawley and Gatwick area. It is one of the biggest employers in Sussex.

It can help to fill the vacuum left by the departure of many BA jobs and the likelihood is that it will expand further.

Although Virgin is tiny compared with BA, it has grown greatly in recent years and there is every chance the process will continue. It also demonstrates the continued appeal of Gatwick as a major international airport. As fast as some airlines decamp to Heathrow or even Stansted, others will take their place.

Air travel overall is set to grow over the next decade and the South-East is the favoured destination of many international travellers. Gatwick will remain the single biggest economic magnet in Sussex.

There are opportunities for still more growth even with a single runway. A second runway would generate even more. But that's another story.