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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.