Heathrow is looking to hire 12,000 staff to handle an expected summer holiday boom, as the UK’s busiest airport warned the recovery in the aviation industry is “being overshadowed by war and Covid”.

Heathrow said that at the busiest times this summer it expects passenger numbers to reach 85% of pre-pandemic levels. However, the airport said it would feel significantly busier than that because of additional pre-departure checks, and it needed to embark on a recruitment drive.

North of Heathrow, London Luton Airport (LLA) is recruiting for 400 new roles across the airport as February’s passenger figures indicate a promising recovery for the airport.

A busy ski season and half-term city breaks boosted LLA’s passenger count last month with 611,00 passengers using LLA in February. Ahead of an anticipated busy summer, boosted by the announcement that all remaining Covid travel restrictions are to be lifted on Friday, the airport is recruiting for 400 new positions.

Jobs available include aviation security officers, fire fighters and retail and hospitality staff and positions related to the Direct Air-Rail Transit (DART) system, which will link the airport terminal with Luton Airport Parkway railway station.

Elsewhere, ilke Homes and Andersen James have teamed up to deliver on more than 500 roles, a move that will see the modular housing pioneer become one of Yorkshire’s largest employers.

As well as ramping up recruitment, the partnership will see the two firms work together to reach ilke Homes’ target for women to account for 20% of its workforce. This will be achieved by working together on devising and implementing the first industry-leading MMC apprenticeship scheme, whilst also starting to implement various other initiatives.

The recruitment drive follows two years of rapid growth for the company, which remains on course to become a top 10 house builder within the next five years.

Finally, the British shipbuilding industry will receive a £4bn boost from the government to galvanise and support shipyards and suppliers across the UK, delivering a pipeline of more than 150 new naval and civil vessels for the UK Government and Devolved Administrations over the next 30 years.

The funding comes as the Ministry of Defence prepares to publish its refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy, outlining how the government will support UK shipyards across the nation to upskill workers, create high-quality jobs, and drives technological development.

The strategy also builds on the UK’s increased support for European defence capability in the face of rising Russian aggression, with UK defence giant Babcock successfully being chosen as Poland’s preferred partner to deliver three new warships based on the UK’s Type 31 design.

The UK’s shipbuilding industry currently supports 42,600 jobs across the UK, from Cornwall to Belfast and Govan, and contributes more than £2.8bn to the economy.

• Comment below on this story. Or let us know what you think by emailing us at [email protected] or tweet us to tell us your thoughts or share this story with a friend.