The airline and operator chose to bring retail operations in-house after a summer of disruption which affected its retail services. The 150,000 square-foot facility in Middlewich will stock, manage and distribute retail products for customers to buy during their flight. 

Jet2 said the retail operations centre, which is now open, is “the first of its kind in the UK” and in a typical year, more than 25 million items will flow through the centre to be loaded onto aircraft.  

Around 300 jobs – including positions in shift operations, warehouse operations, security and inventory control – have been created at the centre. Workers will work across two shifts at the centre to ensure they fully support Jet2’s flying programme.

Jet2 has promoted John Davis to director of retail to lead in-flight retail operations. He will report into commercial and revenue director Adam Mulroy. 

Steve Heapy, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays chief executive, said: “Industry-leading customer service is a critical driver of our continued success, so we are absolutely delighted to be applying that to our in-flight retail operation.

“The opening of this multimillion-pound retail operations centre is a first for UK aviation, and we know that this pioneering step will provide the very best service for our customers.”

Heapy added: “This innovation represents a material investment in our operations, and an enormous amount of work has gone into developing a world-class and industry-leading facility.

“The opening has created hundreds of new jobs too, and we are thrilled to welcome our new colleagues and look forward to them playing a critical role as we continue to succeed and grow.”