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Corfu, one of the most famous Greek islands, is the newest destination on offer from London Luton Airport. The flight is part of a UK-wide expansion by Monarch Airlines, which will also see a new route to Bodrum, Turkey, added at Birmingham, Manchester, and Gatwick airports from summer 2011.

In Greek mythology, Corfu was the place where the god of the sea, Poseidon, married a nymph named Korkyra, whom he had recently abducted from the mainland. The island is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the Ionian Sea, alongside Zante and Kefalonia, and apart from sun and sand is perhaps best known for its selection of museums. Corfu’s clement temperatures and forested peaks are not unique in the Eastern Mediterranean, but the island’s Venetian architecture sets it apart from Rhodes, Kos, and other destinations in the Ionian and Aegean seas.

Beginning on May 23, flights from Luton to Corfu International Airport will operate three times a week. The route from Gatwick and Birmingham to Bodrum will also begin on May 23, while the same flight from Manchester will take off on May 2 2011. Kevin George, chief at Monarch Airlines, explained that the new routes being added at four UK hubs were in response to growing customer demand. Monarch recently experienced its most lucrative January on record, experiencing growth of 24% over the same month in 2010.

Monarch, which is based at Luton Airport, says that the May 2011 expansion is separate from a capacity boost in February, which added 135,000 seats onto the carrier’s summer programme. Flights from Gatwick to Palma and Tenerife were increased by one flight per week, while three additional journeys were introduced on to the popular Gatwick-Paphos service. Similarly, at Manchester Airport, routes to Larnaca and Paphos on the island of Cyprus and the island of Tenerife were boosted by one extra weekly flight each.

Tickets for Monarch’s new route to Corfu begin at £59.99 for a one-way trip departing on May 23 2011.

Two computer-generated holograms, or ‘virtual assistants,’ have joined the workforce at London Luton Airport. The unusual couple, dubbed Holly and Graham by their co-workers, were installed inside Luton’s security search area at the end of January 2011.

Holograms, almost as difficult to define, as they are to produce, are 2D projections of light that give the illusion of a 3D object. In other words, Luton’s newest members of staff are short ‘films’ of a real person, produced by recording the way that light scatters from the real-life Holly and Graham, and then replaying the patterns precisely. The concept has been a staple of science fiction shows for decades, featuring in Star Trek, Red Dwarf, and more realistically, in the movie, I Robot.

Described as “absolutely remarkable” by Glyn Jones, managing director at Luton Airport, Holly and Graham were created by Tensator, a company that produces “crowd control and hospitality solutions.” The holographic pair use pre-recorded phrases, such as “place coins, phones, and keys in your hand luggage,” to assist (or terrify) travellers on their journey through the Bedfordshire hub.

Tensator claims that Luton was the first airport in the world to integrate holographic announcers into the regular workforce. However, Manchester Airport has since introduced holographic versions of existing staff members, John Walsh and Julie Capper, and made the same claims regarding their novelty. Manchester’s holograms were created by entertainment firm, Musion, to enable security guards to concentrate on something other than reminding travellers to remove watches and belts.

Whether holograms or other pieces of software will one day replace the lowly human is debatable, but unlikely, as present designs are incapable of interacting with travellers.

Officials at Luton hope to distribute Holly and Graham to other areas of the airport, if the 4-8 week trial is successful.

Weighing scales may seem inoffensive but a Bedfordshire airport has managed to turn them into an object of “fury,” to quote a major news website.

Luton International Airport has introduced a 50p levy for the use of the hub’s weighing scales. The fee is likely to upset the travelling public, but there is no indication that Luton’s new scales, numbering four, are a mandatory expense, or that conventional weighing devices have been removed from the airport’s main terminal.

However, even if the airport has turned all of its scales into coin-operated mercenaries, travellers can save money and time by weighing their luggage at home on a set of ordinary bathroom scales, a course of action recommended by the Air Transport Users Council.

Luton’s ‘pay as you weigh’ scheme, to coin a phrase, is designed to eliminate delays at check-in desks by ensuring that flyers are aware of the total weight of their luggage, and whether their suitcase exceeds the limits imposed by their airline. The scales have a “large, easy-to-read screen,” says a notice on Luton’s website, which can also display a list of “allowances and excess charges.”

Worryingly, such ‘supplemental’ levies are often a means of recouping financial losses, as is the case at Cardiff Airport, where a service fee was recently applied to the hiring of parking spaces, and at Durham Tees Valley, which recently began charging visitors for using security checkpoints.

It is worth noting that baggage scales can be used free of charge at all other London airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, reinforcing the idea that Luton is trying to refill its dwindling coffers. The airport has also introduced the controversial £1 drop-off fee and a £2 charge for the use of baggage trolleys in recent months.

For many Britons, Christmas is a celebration of the world’s most famous bearded gentlemen, Jesus and Santa Claus, and an excuse to escape the country by any means necessary. It should come as no surprise then that London Luton Airport is expecting thousands of people to arrive at the Bedfordshire hub over the festive season, clutching tickets to more than 90 destinations.

easyJet and Hungarian carrier Wizz Air will provide the majority of Luton Airport’s winter schedule, closely followed by Thomson, Ryanair and veteran British carrier Monarch.

Wizz Air, one of the largest providers of routes to Eastern Europe from the UK, is selling tickets for Varna and Bourgas in Bulgaria, Zagreb in Croatia and the relatively unknown locations Cluj-Napoca and Târgu Mureş in Romania. EasyJet, known for its close relationship with Luton, is offering routes to Amsterdam and Barcelona, as well as ‘sun and sea’ destinations in Egypt and Cyprus.

"The vast range of destinations from London Luton Airport means we can meet the demands of the travelling public and help them to enjoy a fantastic festive season," Simon Harley, airline manager at Luton, explained.

Bosses say that 500,000 people could pass through the airport’s security gates during December and January, with winter ski routes expected to sell just as quickly as flights to coastal resorts in the Mediterranean.

Geneva, for example, is one of the most popular winter routes from Luton, suggesting that a few hardy Brits can’t get enough of freezing winds, snow and sub-zero temperatures.

However, the festive season has some unique security rules that may take people by surprise. Wrapped presents will be opened by border guards, ruining all your hard work, and Christmas crackers are forbidden on all the aforementioned airlines, barring easyJet.

More information on festive security can be found on Luton Airport’s official website.

In this age of tightened security at airports across the world, with new security threats emerging on a seemingly monthly basis to throw security checkpoints into chaos and provide travellers with the worst possible start to their time abroad, the last thing those using British airports need is more cause for delay. However, it would seem that, as travellers, that's exactly what we're getting, and for a reason based solely upon exploitation and greed.

A whistle-blower at London's Luton Airport has publicly accused authorities at that particular airport of deliberately encouraging staff manning security checkpoints to allow queues to grow longer, in the hope that passengers will choose to make use of fast-track security lanes, which can cost up to £5 per person.

Luton Airport introduced pay-as-you-go fast-track lanes last year and they have since been introduced in airports including Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, and Bristol. According to the whistle-blower in question, a policy was introduced prior to the start of the scheme at Luton which encouraged staff to make the queues move more slowly and to do whatever possible to try to create queues when traffic through the security checkpoints wasn't at a high level.

With travellers from the UK currently having to arrive three hours before their scheduled departure time to ensure they get through security in good time, these claims, if true, are simply unacceptable.

Although Luton have denied the accusations, there's no doubting that these claims have done further damage to an industry that could do without any further negative news.

Bedfordshire Police are training an unlikely bunch of people to work as the “eyes and ears of the police” around London Luton Airport, in a bid to catch would-be villains unawares.

The trainees, 550 members of the Luton Airport Aviation Enthusiasts Scheme (AES), a collective of plane spotters, and a real mouthful, have been asked to collect “invaluable intelligence” whilst they watch the planes land at the UK's fifth largest airport.

Police introduced the scheme six years ago, as a wave of paranoia following the destruction of the World Trade Centre in 2001 forced an upheaval in airport security procedures. However, the project was initially used to keep an eye on plane spotters, ensuring that Luton’s anorak-clan masses were not Al Qaeda in disguise.

In 2010, Bedfordshire Police are realising the benefits of having sympathetic spotters stationed around Luton Airport. "(The AES) forms an extra layer of security for the airport," a local police officer explained. “Its hundreds of members have helped in a number of potential security situations,"

AES members are treated to a photo card and a car sticker identifying them as an authorised visitor to Luton Airport. Spotters are also given phone numbers to call in the case of an emergency, such as a hole in perimeter fences.

Despite the high profile of Luton’s plane spotters, the Bedfordshire hub is a “not a fantastic airport to view at all,” according to enthusiast website, Plane Mad, due to the airport’s proximity to cliffs and main roads.

However, local fans are directed to Luton’s high number of executive and private jets, which provide more variety than a Ryanair Boeing 737 or a Thomson Airbus A321.

From the end of October 2010, routes from Luton Airport to Spain and the Canary Islands will benefit from over one thousand extra seats, as veteran airline, Monarch, bolsters its winter sun campaign.

The carrier claims that flights to Alicante and Tenerife, two of the most popular ‘winter sun’ routes offered by Monarch, are in “huge demand,” as the number of passengers choosing to fly with the airline reached “record-breaking” levels.

A quick glance over the airline’s latest traffic figures reveals that Monarch’s PR team is telling the truth: the airline helped almost 465,000 people to their holiday destination in September 2010, compared to 429,000 during the same period last year, a rise of 8.26%.

Similarly, ‘load factors,’ roughly translated as the percentage of airline seats that were sold per aeroplane, were up 4.71% over 2009 figures.

Flights to Spanish resort, Malaga, from Manchester Airport will also benefit from extra seats this winter season. The Spanish city is Monarch’s highest performing route with a load factor of 96%, ahead of Almeria, also in Spain, with 95%.

Combined, extra flight capacity at Manchester and Luton should allow Monarch to carry an extra 2,000 passengers.

Monarch’s Luton route to Alicante will begin accepting extra passengers on October 22, with Tenerife and Manchester’s flight to Malaga following on 28 and 29 October, respectively. Tickets begin at £31.99, each way.

From Luton Airport, Monarch flies to island and coastal destinations almost exclusively, including Larnaca on the island of Cyprus, Faro in Portugal, and Bodrum in Turkey. However, only Alicante and Tenerife will benefit from October’s capacity boost, emphasising the popularity of the two ‘sun and sea’ destinations.

The airline, which is 42 years old this year, has also added a new route from Gatwick Airport to Calabria in Italy, beginning in summer 2011.

Budget airlines at Luton Airport are offering travellers access to “hundreds” of skiing resorts and snowy pistes extending “literally thousands of kilometres” into the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Balkan Mountains in Eastern Europe.

easyJet, which has called Luton its home since 1995, is selling tickets to the French city of Grenoble and, on the other side of the Alps, Turin in Italy. The airline also has a route to Geneva in Switzerland, which should prove popular with fans of the Chamonix and Megève resorts on the Franco-Swiss border.

Hungarian airline Wizz Air is flying from Luton to Sofia in Bulgaria this winter, opening up the resorts of Pamporovo and Bansko to skiers and snowboarders. The airline is perhaps best known for its routes to Poland, and has its largest UK base at Luton, around double the size of its hub at Robin Hood Airport.

Girona in Northern Spain might seem like an odd choice for a skiing holiday, given the country’s ‘sun and sea’ credentials, but the city is the cornerstone of Ryanair’s winter offerings from Luton Airport. Girona enjoys both the heat of the Mediterranean and the chilly slopes of the nearby Pyrenees Mountains on Spain’s border with France.

The ski resort of La Molina, which is 99 years old this year, is located within an hour’s drive of Girona Airport.

Finally, Thomson Airways is providing flights to the Alpine city of Salzburg in Austria. Salzburg is located close to the resorts of Flachau, Bad Gastein and Mayrhofen, known for its “hair-raising” black run, Hara-kiri, named for the mode of suicide favoured by Japanese samurai.

“We aim to cater to the snow sports enthusiast,” Luton’s business development manager, Simon Harley, explained. “Our flights to ski destinations are available between November and March, providing passengers with an extensive choice of winter sports holiday options at convenient flight times.”

Budget airline easyJet has come under fire for its potentially discriminatory treatment of disabled travellers. The problem arises in regard to the carriage of powered wheelchairs which weigh far more than the limit imposed, for health and safety reasons, on baggage handlers.

Batteries must be detached for air travel anyway, but even doing this leaves many powered wheelchairs still weighing 100kg or more. The limit permitted to safeguard baggage handlers is 60kg and unless the wheelchair can be collapsed into separate parts, each of which weighs less than 60kg, the airline cannot accept the wheelchair. As easyJet operates only short-haul routes and does not carry cargo it does not have the aircraft or machinery to get around the problem.

easyJet has said that the CAA recognises the difficulties faced by airlines torn between trying to help disabled passengers and following health and safety rules to safeguard their workforce. The need for co-operation between travellers and the airline is paramount and this is why easyJet ask that travellers with heavy wheelchairs contact the airline 48 hours before travelling as well as bringing the operating manual for their wheelchair with them to the airport.

One disabled traveller, however, is unimpressed. Hannah-Lou Blackall from Hull, whose wheelchair weighs 120kg, is disappointed that her trip to Krakow could be put at risk. She is not at all happy at the thought of anyone dismantling her expensive equipment and feels that this will cause stress for herself and her travelling companions. easyJet is, however, the only airline flying direct to Krakow from the UK.

Campaign group Trailblazers is asking airlines to consider having seats which can be removed to accommodate wheelchairs which would ensure their safety and make the journey more comfortable for the disabled passenger.

Luggage handling firm, Bagport, has announced that it will double the price of its trolley hire service, from £1 to £2. The change affects Luton and Bristol airports, with Cardiff expected to follow suit within the next few weeks.

Based in Redditch, Worchester, Bagport provides a range of baggage related services to UK airports, including weighing, wrapping, and retail. The company has fallen on hard times in recent months, however, and blamed falling customer numbers for the recent price change.

Strangely, the price of a trolley in Euros has not changed, making it the cheaper option at €2 or £1.65.

A spokesperson for Bagport noted that, until now, the company had not altered its trolley fees to reflect a global rise in operating costs and was haemorrhaging money as a result. The price hike was a last resort, explained the spokesperson, but one that should allow Bagport to maintain its customer service standards.

Luton Airport has pleaded its innocence in the matter, claiming that it will not ‘benefit financially’ from any extra profits. Bosses have also said that Bagport made the decision to raise its prices ‘at its own discretion,’ and was not asked to make the change by the airport itself.

Bagport's pricing scheme differs from those used at Gatwick and Stansted airports, which allow travellers to use trolleys free with a £1 refundable deposit. Luton's trolley charge is not refundable.

Whilst lone travellers might not grumble at the new price, school groups and families with children could end up with a hefty bill.

The changes, which were implemented on Thursday, coincide with the busiest period of the summer holiday season. ‘Bagport is fully aware of the disappointment it might leave with its customers,’ the spokesperson said.

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, better known as EasyJet founder, Stelios, has resigned from the airline’s board. The Greek entrepreneur has taken umbrage with plans to expand the airline’s fleet by 7.5% a year, and is now demanding a £3m annual settlement for the continued use of the ‘Easy’ trademark.

EasyJet is a branch of Stelios’ EasyGroup, which includes EasyBus and EasyHotel, and the more unusual brands, EasyPizza and Easy4Men. Founded in 1998, the conglomerate comprises more than 15 different companies in total, each styled in Easy’s distinctive orange and white branding.

Stelios has an odd penchant for suing any business that uses the word ‘easy’ in its name, regardless of how long the company has been established. In 2004, a London pizza store was taken to the High Court after it refused to surrender its internet domain to Stelios.

The business, named EasyPizza, was alleged to have stolen its name from EasyGroup, despite being a year older than Stelios’ venture. Owner, Karl Kahn, described Stelios as a ‘rich bully.' The High Court and a major intellectual property watchdog have also ruled against the Greek in the past.

Stelios’ resignation from EasyJet’s board was prompted by an argument with the airline’s executive, Andy Harrison, who wants to purchase more aircraft, "I think profits will go up if the number of aircraft stops growing," Stelios explained. "I have given up trying to change things from the inside. Now I'm going to do it from the outside."

EasyJet’s row with its founder goes to court on 8 June – a battle that could cost the airline £5m in legal fees. Perhaps even worse, if a judge rules in favour of Stelios, EasyJet will be forced to ditch the elements of its brand that identify it as a member of EasyGroup, and become a completely new airline.

Stelios, who owns 38% of EasyJet, will now try to engineer a shareholder revolt, in a bid to undermine the airline’s management team.

From the 28th March 2010, Blue Air will add 14 new routes to its London Luton schedules. The airline is relatively unknown outside of Italy and its native Romania, with just two established flights in the UK. Blue Air’s latest expansion should help the airline boost its profile outside mainland Europe.

Luton Airport’s new destinations are all located in Romania. Blue Air is offering daily flights to the capital, Bucharest, as well as four weekly flights to Sibiu in Transylvania, and three weekly flights to Bacau near the Carpathian Mountains. Romania has grown very popular with British holidaymakers in recent years.

The country is perhaps best known for its rich history and architecture, including all the myriad vampire legends, and the supposed home of Vlad the Impaler, Castle Bran. The skiing resorts of Poiana Braşov and Valea Prahovei are also important tourist attractions, opening in December every year.

Airport manager Simon Harley offered a template statement, claiming that they were "delighted to announce further expansion with Blue Air at Luton Airport", and adding that "budget airlines continue to make travel accessible to millions of Europeans". The airline’s new Romanian routes will arrive just in time for the lucrative Easter weekend.

Blue Air plans to use a Boeing 737 on the new routes, a medium-sized aeroplane capable of seating around 150 people. The airline is the second in recent months to offer flights to Eastern Europe: little-known airline Danubewings announced a similar service from Luton to Slovakia at the end of last year.

Tickets for all the new Blue Air routes are available on the airline’s website.

In recent years, the British winter has been cold and unfriendly, closing schools and factories and spitting snow at old ladies in the street. February in particular has brought some of the coldest days on record, and this year looks to be no different.

On Monday morning, London Luton airport was temporarily shut down after an unexpected snow flurry made the runway treacherous.

Crews worked for four hours to remove snow and ice from aeroplanes, before finally reopening the terminal at midday. 10 airlines experienced delays, including Ryanair and Flybe.

Elsewhere, airports in Leicestershire, Cheshire and Suffolk were also struggling to keep their passengers warm, and both Manchester and East Midlands airports suffered cancellations.

In Scotland, temperatures plunged to -15 degrees, whilst Belfast Airport struggled to contend with a broken de-icing machine, leaving pilots to sweep the ice from a plane with an ordinary broom.

Meteorologists have predicted another fortnight of bad weather, perhaps rivalling December’s snowstorm, as the Met Office prepares to announce the coldest winter for 30 years.

Dave Elliot, a national forecaster at the weather service, was feeling pessimistic, stating that the weather "is going to stay over the weekend". He also said that we're seeing a "block pattern" this winter, in that the cold weather "started in the second week of December and we've not been able to shift the cooler air away”.

UK airports continue to warn of delays and cancellations. Travellers are encouraged to contact their airline before setting out, especially if the local weather looks bleak. However, all airports are currently operating as normal.

Poprad, one of the largest cities in Slovakia, is expecting a consort of British travellers this Christmas, after London Luton Airport announced a new route to the Tatras Mountains, a resort popular with fans of snow sports.

The advent of the winter season is unpopular with airline executives, because it marks the end of buoyant summer profits, and brings about a slow slide into financial insecurity. However, the European Alps and the modest Carpathians are slowly becoming a panacea for miserable managers, providing airlines and villagers alike with an income.

Winter sports remain a lively industry all year round, and intrepid skiers have been chomping at the bit since September, eager to find something a little more glamorous than the Scottish and Welsh peaks or a dull indoor slope. A boom in cheap airfares has allowed hard-up tourists to try out their skills on more exotic slopes, such as those in France, Italy, and now, in Slovakia.

Luton’s new route will serviced by Danubewings, an airline from Bratislava, and one of the youngest carriers to grace the tarmac at the London airport. The tiny firm has just three aircraft in its fleet, all based within the Slovakian capital. Danubewings will offer a thrice-weekly trip from the 1st December 2009. The carrier is keen to attract Ryanair renegades – travellers who don’t want to pay £1 to use the onboard bathroom. Michael O’Leary’s airline is one of the few British carriers to offer a route to Slovakia.

"Low-fare flying continues to make business and leisure travel accessible to millions of Europeans. The launch of this new service to Poprad provides yet more choice." Simon Harley, departmental boss at Luton Airport, was jubilant.

Danubewings does not have an English language website, but booking facilities are available on the London-Luton Airport site.

Hilton Garden Inn (HGI), a subsidiary of the famous Hilton Hotel brand, has commissioned a new 250 room hotel to be built near Luton Airport. The building, which will open in 2010, will be constructed by the property development firm, Ability Group.

Seventy direct jobs will be created at the hotel, ranging from catering positions to middle management. The Luton HGI is the second of its kind in the city, forming part of a massive inner-city regeneration project.

Whilst the hotel may not boast the luxury of the Las Vegas Hilton, the Garden Inn is still marketed at high rollers - executives and mid-market travellers with an eye for luxury.

The Luton HGI boasts a restaurant and bar, and bedrooms with custom beds, LCD TVs and full air conditioning. Parking for two hundred vehicles will also help relieve pressure on parking facilities at Luton Airport.

Ability Group chair, Andreas Panayiotou, was delighted with the project: “This is a superb location at the heart of Luton, next to the fast-growing airport and the Parkway station. I'm sure we will be very well received here.”

Hilton and the Ability Group share an industrious history, equating to five separate hotels in a number of cities throughout the country. The Luton hotel is expected to remain under Hilton management for the next two decades.

The HGI is an unassuming steel and glass block, but at less than one mile from the airport, the site is sure to prove popular with foreign visitors, arriving in Luton for the first time.

Each room has wireless internet access and a twenty-four hour fitness suite, just a taster of the wider range of Hilton luxury.

EasyJet has announced that it will cut one in five of its flights from Luton Airport. Jobs will be put at risk as the airline cuts hundreds of flights in the UK and moves more of its planes to bases in Europe. This comes just after it announced that it will also leave its base at East Midlands Airport.

Andy Harrison, the chief executive of EasyJet, said that the company is moving to “more profitable” European hubs, and blamed Luton’s high airport fees for the decision.

On top of that, the Air Passenger Duty that the government plans to increase in November will also have a negative effect on the airline. In Europe, however, green taxes have been cut by governments in order to help airlines get through the recession.

Harrison said that “the rise in Air Passenger Duty hits regional airports hardest”, and it is partly this that has increased pressure on the airline to move operations to Europe.

EasyJet employs over 3,500 staff in the UK. Unite, the union that represents its workers, has expressed its concern about potential job losses. Kevin Hall, the regional officer, said that it is “extremely worrying” and that the flexible business model that EasyJet uses means there are “no excuses for compulsory redundancies”.

EasyJet was founded at Luton Airport back in 1995. EasyJet currently has 530 employees at the airport, but it is thought up to 100 jobs could be affected. It will make its changes in the new year, and until then flights will remain unaffected. It has suggested that it will probably shift its operational focus to Gatwick.

EasyJet has threatened to break away from Luton Airport if a proposed hike in landing fees goes ahead. The move, which would see two of EasyJet’s planes relocated to either Stansted or Gatwick, could force a number of job cuts at the Bedfordshire facility.

Founded in 1995, EasyJet found fame (and some notoriety) as the subject of the ITV documentary, Airline. The firm has since gone on to shift some forty-five million tourists a year - second only to archenemy, Ryanair.

Until recently the airline was planning to expand its operations at Luton, opting to take advantage of low landing fees across the country. The latest dispute arose as the airport announced its fee tariff for 2010.

Despite enjoying a great deal of success at Luton, EasyJet has been at loggerheads with airport bosses for a number of months. The addition of a £1 levy for the use of airport drop-off areas was derided by EasyJet officials, who felt that passengers were being herded – unwillingly – onto an airport bus service.

The recent fee hike is the icing on the cake.

Determined to find a solution to its quandary, EasyJet remains optimistic, stating that “talks are continuing about airport costs and future growth strategies", and that this will allow them to increase investment at the airport and help to create more jobs.

The airline has warned that further price increases could put the airport in jeopardy. EasyJet’s biggest rival, Ryanair, has been quick to abandon airports with excessive landing fees.

If major airlines start to fly away, London Luton stands to lose a lot more than tourists and straw donkeys.

The queues at airport check-in desks are one of the worst parts of flying and, although many airlines offer the opportunity to check-in online, this is not always possible, especially if you are travelling with hold luggage or simply do not have access to the internet.

News that Easyjet could be rolling out a trial of so-called "mobile" check-ins will therefore be welcomed by passengers. It does of course also have the added bonus of reducing staffing costs and the need for so many desks which have to be hired at significant cost from the airport operator.

Assurances have, however, been given that, unlike their rival low cost airline Ryanair, Easyjet have no plans to scrap the traditional check-in procedure for those who want it and that it will not be charging for check-in either. Ryanair, on the other hand, have said that they are moving towards having no check-in desks at airports and that those who are unable to check-in online will face a heavy financial penalty.

Easyjet will address a conference at Las Vegas next month and will give full details of the scheme, called Project Halo. It is thought that the hand held machines will process travellers' details, print boarding cards and also scan the boarding cards, thus reducing queuing at departure gates too, which will also come as welcome news to passengers.

A spokesman for Easyjet said that the airline prided itself on being at the forefront of technological innovation and is constantly seeking new ways to use technology to assist its operations and to make flying a better experience for passengers.

Luton Airport has now decided to go ahead with introducing their new parking charges including the controversial "Kiss and Drop" fee of £1 charged to drivers when dropping others off at Luton for their flight using the priority drop off area. The plans came into place on the 1st July 2009.

They have however, come up with other ways of offering free drop off if you don't want to pay this charge. These include a Mid-Term car park where passengers can drop off or park free for up to 60 minutes but you will need to take their free shuttle bus service to the terminal which is a short 2 minute journey and departs from a sheltered bus stop every 10 minutes. However, while this is a short 2 minute journey usually, in peak times, and while the new scheme is getting established there may be traffic delays which slow the buses down, so you are advised to leave plenty of time to ensure you are on time for your check in and flight.

Another option is their Short-Term car park which is just a 4 minute walk from the terminal and costs £2.50 for 15 minutes parking or £4.50 for up to 30 minutes. If you are a Blue Badge holder there are dedicated disabled bays which are free to use for up to 60 minutes. Luton also have plans to improve the facilities for disabled passengers such as introducing electric buggies by the end of 2009.

There are also a great range of public transport services helping you get to and from Luton Airport including Luton taxis, coaches, buses and trains. These can be very reasonably priced and the earlier you book the better the price.

Luton Airport has just announced that it is putting on hold the proposed £1 fee that it was planning to charge customers for dropping off passengers at the terminal, which had been dubbed the 'kiss and drop' charge.

The airport had originally been planning to introduce the new charge in April, but it turns out that it has now been put on hold until further notice.

The decision has been welcomed by the Air Transport Users Council, which objects to passengers having to pay more than the cost of their flight for other services provided by the airports.

The £1 fee, although not a huge amount in itself, would have been yet another charge that frustrated customers would have been expected to pay at the airport, on top of the £1 that they are already charged for the clear plastic bags which are used to take cosmetics and other liquids on board the flights.

However, Luton Airport authorities have made it clear that the fee has not been cancelled altogether, but has instead simply been put on hold until further notice, so customers may yet see themselves forking out an extra charge in the future.

A spokesman for the airport told The Telegraph that “there is no fixed date for it” and that passengers will be advised “in due course”. But if the airport does start to charge customers, it will be the first in the UK to do so.

It is becoming increasingly common for airports to charge passengers for a number of little things, and these are starting to add up. However, during the recession airports need to make their money somehow, and these mini charges are one way of increasing profits that it is hard for customers to do much about.

Picture the scene. You’re sitting beside the love of your life, you’re tucking into some champagne as you cruise at 30,000 feet on your way to your dream honeymoon destination, when suddenly you’re asked to step into the pilot’s cockpit so he can marry you. It sounds like a scene from a bad sit-com, but according to the budget airline Easyjet it could be the route to getting their profits back to the heights they’re used to.

Fewer of us are flying anywhere these days and the airlines such as Easyjet and Ryanair, who have thrived on those passengers who fly when perhaps they don’t really need to, are finding themselves having to drum up clientele in more ingenious ways. The Scrooges at Ryanair have considered a number of money-making ideas, from coin operated toilets to a fat-tax for customers of a certain weight. Now Easyjet are appealing to our romantic side with the idea of having the pilot marrying the couple mid-air.

If successful, Easyjet would like the pilot to personally become licensed to wed a couple in his cockpit while they fly to their honeymoon. They are selling the idea as a time-saver, but mostly as a chance finally to be able to get married above the clouds. At present UK laws state that marriage must be conducted in a stationary setting. It must also be conducted by a religious minister, or a registered member of the council. The legal hurdles won’t be easy for Easyjet to fly over with this one, but rest assured they’ll be hoping the right people say "I do" when it comes down to a decision.

If you are dropping friends or family off at Luton Airport after April 29th, don’t leave home without money. The airport is introducing a one pound fee for a ten minute drop off slot and the only way to avoid it is to drop your passengers at the mid-term car park where they can catch the airport shuttle bus.

The drop off area at the terminal building has been refurbished and gives passengers more room to unload and there are special bays for passengers with mobility problems.

The charge is being introduced in an effort to keep traffic flowing smoothly and according to a spokesman for the airport it is hoped that by “offering a choice of options” they can “provide an airport experience to suit the needs of all passengers”.

Luton airport is run by Abertis and rumour is rife that similar charges could be introduced at other airports run by the same operator which include Cardiff and Belfast.

The airport was heavily criticised in June 2008 when it became the first major airport to introduce a non-refundable charge for using its trolleys, with the Air Transport Users’ Council saying it was a pure money making scheme and the airport defending its position claiming it would lead to a better service. It also charges a pound for providing the clear plastic bags in which we now have to place all liquids and gels being carried on as part of our hand luggage.

A pound won’t break the bank but there will no doubt be complaints from the travelling public who will see this as yet another way of replenishing the coffers at a time of difficulty for the industry.

Easyjet has announced its intention to sue both Luton Airport and Luton Borough Council for over a million pounds for their failure to deal with the heavy snow which fell earlier this month. Easyjet lost money because flights had to be cancelled after the airport was closed due to the severe weather conditions. In addition, crew members were unable to reach the airport even after it had re-opened, meaning that more flights had to be cancelled.

Andy Harrison, chief executive of Easyjet, wrote to the council accusing it of a “failure.... to take reasonable steps to keep the road open”. The council has responded by saying that snow ploughs and gritters were used in an attempt to keep major roads open and that staff had worked around the clock to ease the situation. It is therefore “surprised and disappointed” by Easyjet’s accusations.

The airline has also accused Luton Airport of failing to implement its snow plan which caused “avoidable disruption”. A spokesperson for the airport responded by saying that four feet of snow had fallen in Luton in a short period of time rendering it necessary to close the airport for safety reasons.

On the same day that the airport was closed because of the snow, the elements caused chaos at the Easyjet AGM held at the airline’s HQ in Luton. By the time the meeting was due to start, none of the board members had managed to get there because of the snow and under company rules a new chairman had to be elected for the duration of the meeting. This was duly done and the new chairman, employee Bruce James, adjourned the meeting for an hour and a half by which time four board members had turned up and Mr James’ five minutes of fame were over.

With the aviation industry coming under constant fire for its lack of green credentials, Luton airport is introducing a car share scheme for its employees which will not only help the environment but also the staff’s pockets, with the rising price of fuel a cause for concern.

Simon Earles, general manager of corporate social responsibility at Luton, told a local newspaper that car usage for commuting to and from work at the airport is relatively high and the new scheme will hopefully reduce usage. 9000 people work at the airport and although there are already schemes in existence to get people out of their cars and on to public transport, be it bus, coach or train, there is recognition that public transport is not always suitable for everyone, hence the car share idea.

Once staff sign up to the scheme they can search the database for a suitable match and the idea is not restricted solely to journeys to and from work. Once you are a member, you can use the scheme for any journey. If you need persuading, a handy calculator on the website allows you to calculate just how much of a saving you can make. With the spiralling costs of running a car it can make interesting reading!

Many people may have misgivings over the safety aspect of the scheme but the website is quick to point out that security is an important issue for them and only limited personal details are available to other members. Tips are also given to ensure that members stay safe, such as meeting in a public place for the first time, letting a friend know where you are going and producing some sort of ID the first time you meet.

With the announcement of its Winter Schedule for 2008-09, it has been revealed that EasyJet, the UK’s largest low-cost airline, will launch new international services from Gatwick and Luton, beginning later this year. Commencing on 3 October and 3 November EasyJet will launch two new routes from Gatwick to Lyon in France and Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. Flights to Lyon will be available for purchase from £25.99 (one way) and to Helsinki from £32.99 (one way). Both prices are inclusive of taxes. The two additional flights will take the number of EasyJet services flying from Gatwick to sixty five.

Departing from Luton, EasyJet will also be re-launching its service to the South of France, flying to Turin and Grenoble, to coincide with the 2008/2009 ski season. Beginning on 12 December, flights to Turin will be available from £29.99 one way and to Grenoble from £27.99 one way (prices inclusive of taxes). Back by popular demand, the return of the services to Turin and Grenoble will account for two of twenty seven services flying from Luton during the Winter season. The routes confirm EasyJet’s commitment to serving North London with more low-cost services without passengers having to travel from Heathrow or Gatwick and will increase the number of EasyJet flights from Luton to twenty-five.

EasyJet’s Winter Schedule will begin on 3 November and run until 28 March 2009. Seats for the new EasyJet services are now on sale – flights should be booked early to make the most of the airline’s best deals.

Aviation contributes to 13% of total UK emissions. However, with the number of people choosing aeroplanes as a convenient means of transport, this percentage is set to increase. To find out more about aviation, please visit enviroaero.

Now that we know this, should we still opt to fly? I’m sure there are a few eco-warriors who will answer this question with a resounding “NO” but, generally speaking, if Joe Bloggs had the opportunity to take a week off work, I’m 90% sure he would rather fly to some tropical island than traipse around rainy England. Whilst realistically we cannot persuade people to stop flying abroad, we can campaign for our airports to be as ecologically aware as possible.

One airport which has embraced the NATS ecological initiative is Luton airport. On the 12th May 2008, Luton switched from their standard airfield buses to the new eco-friendly COBUS 3000. Such buses are able to carry up to 112 passengers whereas their standard buses could only transport around 50 passengers. As well as being safer, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing and efficient, the buses are made from aluminium, an eco-friendly, self-maintaining, recyclable material that will endure transporting passengers and luggage for over 25 years. Luton airport plans to make a total replacement programme for all transportation vehicles. Other eco-friendly airports include the East Midlands Airport, voted the most eco-friendly airport in the world on the 12th of October 2007.

When flying abroad, you can reduce your carbon-footprint by travelling to the airport via public transport and by reducing the amount of luggage you take with you. If you really want to make a difference, you can be a part of the Carbon offsetting scheme.

Although we should advocate alternative means of transport, rather than solely campaigning to dissuade people from travelling abroad, we should draw the aviation industry's attention to the changes that they can make to reduce their carbon-footprint.

Since Silverjet, the Luton based business class airline, went into administration at the end of May, it has been a roller coaster of a ride for those following the news of bids and counter bids, promises and disappointments.

On the 1st of June it was announced that Viceroy Holdings, who had been behind the failed attempt to save the beleaguered airline, were interested, along with a group of managers formerly employed by Silverjet.

A few days later, on the 5th of June, the administrators, Begbies Traynor, announced that there were three or four interested parties and that they hoped that the deal would be settled by the end of the week.

The next day, an Irish investment company, Kingsplace Ltd, entered the fray on behalf of clients, although they were said to be facing competition from an unnamed airline.

On the 7th of June it was the turn of the Reubens brothers, property developers, who had been responsible for an injection of £10 million into Silverjet last Nov.

On June 10th ArabJet, a Dubai based airline, was hotly tipped to be the unnamed airline mentioned earlier by the administrators.

The very next day, Kingsplace Ltd were said to have agreed terms and had high hopes that the Silverjet planes would be flying again within weeks, with staff being kept on and passengers’ tickets being honoured. It all sounded rosy until June 14th, when it was announced that all rescue bids had failed and that 420 staff had been made redundant. Kingsplace’s bid had failed because of regulatory problems and it now seems unlikely that the airline will ever rise from the ashes.

Only a couple of weeks ago Silverjet, the all business class airline based at Luton airport, was celebrating its 100,000th passenger and launching a summer sale with return flights to New York and Dubai from as little as £999. How quickly things can change in the airline industry!

This time last week Silverjet was still hoping to receive a £12.6 million investment, although they had requested that their shares be suspended on the Stock Market from Friday 30th May because of the delay in getting the cash. New equity was needed because of rising fuel amongst other things, with the cost of fuel for a round trip to New York having risen from £28,600 to over £44,000 in the last six months.

Just a few days later the airline was forced to ground its flights, joining the ranks of other business class carriers, Maxjet and Eos, who both went out of business earlier in the year.

The CAA estimated that 10,000 passengers would be affected, many stranded in New York and Dubai, the latest destination to be serviced by the airline. As a gesture of goodwill BA, Virgin and Emirates all stepped into the breach offering good deals to passengers affected by the crisis.

Hopes are still high that the airline may be bought by interested parties, including Viceroy Holdings who were behind the much hoped-for rescue package and also a group of former managers employed by the airline. This resulted in Silverjet shares reaching 21.75p, a two month high.

Protests were held at Luton Airport last month against proposed changes to flight paths going in and out of the airport. According to the National Air Traffic Service (NATS), the new plans would mean that aircraft taking off and landing at Luton would avoid going over as many towns and villages as possible, greatly reducing the number of people whose homes are affected by low-flying aircraft. NATS also said that by re-drawing the flight paths, the safety and environmental performance of the airport would be vastly improved. But the changes will mean that air traffic will be stacked above the villages of Caddington and Slip End in Bedfordshire when waiting to land. Local residents are outraged that if the proposals go ahead, aeroplanes will be flying over the villages every four minutes, meaning noise and pollution will be significantly increased in the rural villages.

Leading the campaign against the proposed route changes is Luton South MP, Margaret Moran. According to Moran there has been a great deal of investment put into showing that Luton and its surrounding areas are good places to live. She believes that if air traffic starts passing over some of the quieter parts of the region then all that investment will be worthless. Moran is confident that the campaign will be a success, with MPs from both Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire backing the protests. Luton council is also opposing the plans and Moran believes that it won’t be long before Luton airport comes out against them.

It has been revealed that Luton airport is one of the main portals for child trafficking in the UK. Led by the Home Affairs Committee, an investigation is now under way to assess the number of children entering the UK via Luton and other regional airports to work as drug mules or sex workers.

Margaret Moran, MP for Luton South, is backing the investigation, following her own work in Ukraine with victims of Human Trafficking. Moran has been pushing for the investigation for over a year but became increasingly concerned after a report issued last month recorded that an average of 66 children go missing from schools in her own constituency every year. According to the Luton Local Safeguarding Children Board, there have been numerous examples of children applying for asylum and registering at schools for up to a term before disappearing from their registered address without proper investigation.

The latest reports follow the closure of a Luton brothel on the New Bedford Road in December 2007, as part of a fight to reduce human trafficking in the UK. Although security restrictions have got tougher at Heathrow, Gatwick and other major UK airports, this has left regional airports, such as Luton, open to targeting from child traffickers. Ms Moran has given her full support for the investigation, arguing that better policing of both schools and airports is needed to ensure the safety of children illegally entering the country. “We have an obligation to protect all children,” she said, “we need to act now to ensure no more young lives are ruined by this horrendous form of slavery.”

In a move to reduce its damaging impact on the environment, Luton airport has replaced four of its airfield buses with new fuel efficient models, the beginning of a project to replace all its airport buses over the next few years. The new initiative follows plans published by the airport in January this year which outlined intentions to focus on building a better environment for the local community.

The innovative project has seen Luton airport implement four Cobus 3000 buses which are designed with a light-weight aluminium body and reduced engine size, specifically intended to cope efficiently with the low speeds required on the airfield. Used to transport airport traffic between the aircraft and Luton’s airport terminal, the ultra-modern buses meet the highest standards of emission testing, saving as much as four or five litres of diesel each hour they are operated. The aluminium construction of the Cobus 3000 also works to reduce wear and tear, avoiding the corrosion common to other types of buses and extending the lifeline and cost efficiency of the vehicles. The buses also have a combined body, chassis and engine management system which has been designed to reduce routine maintenance needs.

In addition to the carbon efficiency of the buses, each Cobus 3000 is designed to ensure maximum passenger comfort. The doors are extra wide to accommodate wheelchairs and pushchairs and each bus has a ‘kneel down’ facility to aid children and elderly passengers when boarding the bus. Additionally, the buses have anti-slip flooring, protective glass and a state-of-the-art temperature management system, maintaining safety as well as environmental performance.

As anyone living near a major airport knows, planes flying overhead can make life a misery and can also be bad for your health, particularly your stress levels. Even if you stock up on earplugs and succeed in training yourself to sleep through the noise, research has shown that your blood pressure still increases, despite the fact that you do not wake up.

In February this year, the National Air Traffic Services (the firm responsible for managing air traffic in the UK) announced proposed changes in the flight paths to and from Luton airport, and local residents must have been delighted to hear that the number of people being affected by the noise of aircraft flying overhead at less than 4000 feet was to be reduced by 20%.

All, however, is not as it seemed and reports now state that residents in the villages to the south east of Luton Airport will get a raw deal out of the new proposals, with 5,310 extra people likely to be affected by 57 decibels of aircraft noise. The villages of Caddington, Slip End, Woodside and Aley Green look as though they will be worst affected. Planes flying from an eastward direction from Luton will be flying much lower over Tring and Berkhamstead, and those going west will affect residents in Tring and Hemel Hempstead.

A public meeting is to be held on April 21st in the village of Cuddington and meanwhile the proposals can be seen online.

Other NATS proposals will also affect Heathrow, Stansted and London City airports.