SUSSEX received a boost today as an airline announced it was stepping up its services for passengers and creating 200 new jobs.

Jersey European Airlines confirmed it has invested nearly £200 million to buy 15 new aeroplanes to increase the number of flights around the UK and France.

The news comes in the wake of the announcement that around 500 jobs are being created during building work on the new £200 million power station at Shoreham Harbour.

During the two-year project South Coast Power says it will employ as many as 500 staff and has promised at least half will be recruited from the Brighton, Hove and Shoreham areas.

At Gatwick, Jersey European Airlines, which operates several flights daily from the airport, says its investment will create more than 200 jobs and increase its number of passengers a year to more than three million.

Aspokesman said: "It is too early at this stage to say exactly where the new planes will be based and how many jobs will be created at Gatwick, but it will certainly benefit from our investment and new jobs are on the cards."

"It is good news for the company and for the airports we serve across the UK."

Airline chief executive Barry Perrott said: "It is a move that repays the support and commitment of the regional communities we have serviced for many years and it will open up new opportunities for the airline on both existing services as well as new markets."

The move is a second boost for Gatwick and Crawley in a week after Crawley-based holiday firm First Choice and Swiss company Kuoni Travel announced a £1.4 billion merger which safeguarded existing positions and paved the way for more jobs in the future.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.