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Next year, travellers near East Midlands Airport (EMA) will be able to choose two new destinations from their holiday brochure, thanks to a UK-wide expansion from Yorkshire-based carrier, Jet2. The airline will begin flying from the Castle Donnington hub to the cities of Murcia and Malaga in May 2012.

Murcia is the capital of the autonomous (self-governing) region of the same name, located in southeastern Spain. The city enjoys a privileged position on the fertile Segura River, and counts lettuce, oranges, and tomatoes as its primary exports. However, Murcia is perhaps best known for its scorching summers, and the baroque styling of its buildings, which include the Cathedral of Murcia, one of the tallest in Spain.

EMA’s second new route, Malaga, needs no introduction. The Spanish city is, alongside Alicante and Benidorm, one of the most popular ‘sun and sea’ resorts in Western Europe.

Jet2’s decision to sell tickets almost a year in advance might seem unusual, but the move could prove beneficial for both the airline, and its customers. Pre-sales will give Jet2 some indication of how well its two new routes are going to perform, while customers can benefit from the low prices typically offered during advance sales promotions.

The silver and red carrier claims that “customer demand” was the impetus for its decision to add new routes at EMA. Jet2 has also cited its bourgeoning popularity for an increase in flight capacity on its routes from the airport. An alleged 4,300 extra seats will be available on aeroplanes bound for Alicante, the Algarve, Majorca, and Tenerife, from May next year.

Flights from EMA to Malaga and Murcia will operate five and three times a week, respectively. Prices begin at £34.99.

Civil unrest in North Africa and the Middle East is having serious consequences for British holidaymakers, as airlines continue to suspend flights from UK airports to affected countries.

Earlier this month, Leeds-based airline, Jet2, announced a suspension of its routes from the UK to the resorts of Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada in Egypt. The cancellation, which comes into effect at the beginning of March, will see flights lost at East Midlands and Leeds Bradford airports, and up to seven other Jet2 hubs. The carrier says that protests against the three-decade rule of Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down as the Egyptian president on February 11 2011, were a risk to the safety and comfort of travellers.

The red and silver airline will increase capacity on routes to Spain and Portugal, equal to 70,000 extra seats, to compensate for the scrapped flights to Egypt. Customers who are already booked onto flights from the UK to the Red Sea region will have their money refunded. Discounts on future bookings will be available to flyers who have been affected by the airline’s escape from Egypt. However, the promise of a cheaper holiday in future has done little to appease travellers who have been forced to return to the UK. Peter O’Reilly, a retiree from Somerset, cut his trip to Sharm el Sheikh short by seven days, amid fears that he would be abandoned by Jet2 on the return journey.

Whilst the risk of further protests in Egypt has fallen with the retirement of Hosni Mubarak from office, Jet2 has yet to abort the March 1 cancellation of its flights to the Land of the Pharaohs. Conspiracy theorists could argue that Jet2 is using the Egyptian protests as 'cover' for a pre-planned exodus from the region. News agency, Reuters Africa, notes that British Airways (BA), Iberia, and Air France have also cancelled routes to Egypt. “The lack of demand made the services unfeasible,” explained the website.

BA, alongside KLM and Emirates, has also cut flights to Libya, as armed conflicts wage in the cities surrounding the capital, Tripoli.

Over the years, East Midlands Airport, located in Castle Donnington, has invested a great deal of money in sustainable technologies, new power sources, and ‘eco-awareness’ events, such as the Big Green Week held during October 2010. The airport is now attempting to harness the power of the elements, by investing in two giant (45m) wind turbines. Officials hope that the twin windmills will generate around 5% of the airport’s power needs.

Described as a “significant investment for the airport and the environment” by Neil Robinson, East Midlands’ chief of sustainability, the turbines, due to be completed in March 2011, will remain at the site for two decades. The Leicestershire hub is the first major airport in the UK to have installed more than one wind turbine on its grounds. The only other site that comes close is Bristol Airport, which recently completed work on a single 20m tall windmill.

Airports are often obliged to develop and install eco-friendly technologies, due to the high levels of pollution produced by low-flying aeroplanes, but airports and windmills are poor bedfellows. Turbines, especially when clustered together, can mask the radar signature of an approaching aircraft, hiding the plane beneath ‘clutter’. Officials at East Midlands have not mentioned how this problem will be overcome, but other airports, such as Kent, were forced to spend millions of pounds on new equipment to keep radar screens clear.

Work on East Midland’s newest investments has only just begun, with “ground clearance and foundation work” forming the majority of the work conducted in January 2011. The airport has permission from Leicester City Council to build two more turbines, though it is currently unknown if the remaining structures will be built before 2030, when the first two windmills are decommissioned.

Staying with the theme of weather, East Midlands Airport is to spend £3m on new snow-clearing equipment over the next few years, in a bid to prevent the chaos that ensued after the heavy snowfall in December 2010. The Castle Donnington hub, unlike Doncaster, Edinburgh, and Heathrow, was not closed during the snowstorms, but a number of flights were subjected to delays. Brad Miller, chief executive at the airport, said that clearance crews “need the tools to do the job”.

Budget airline, Jet2, has announced a huge expansion to its operations in the Midlands and Northern England, due to commence in 2011. The carrier, which is based in Leeds, will create 600 jobs next summer, including flight and engineering crews, as 26 new routes enter circulation at Manchester, Leeds Bradford, and East Midlands airports.

The airline’s parent, Dart Group, PLC, said that summer 2010 was ‘record breaking,’ in terms of passengers flown, with Jet2’s bases in the north drawing crowds of millions (2.8m, to be precise) during the peak ‘sun and sea’ season.

However, Jet2’s presence at Castle Donnington hub, East Midlands, is perhaps the biggest success story of recent months. The airline has held a base at the airport for just six months, but the regional airport has experienced faster growth than the majority of Jet2’s bases in the UK.

Philip Meeson, Jet2’s CEO, said, “We are delighted that we've had such a successful first summer at East Midlands.” Meeson noted that Jet2 is the “only airline” to have added routes from the Castle Donnington airport for 2011. Flights to Alicante, Bodrum, Faro, Palma, and Rhodes will begin in May and June, creating 39 jobs.

Jet2 hopes that the new destinations will boost the number of passengers flying with the carrier from the Midlands to 300,000 per year. The hike in customers will be aided by the delivery of one new aircraft to the hub, a Boeing 757.

The Yorkshire airline has also invested in ergonomic seating with “great legroom.” The new seats, says Jet2, will be a feature of all aircraft next year, and could be instrumental in reducing airfares, as they are lighter than the average airline seat.

On May 28 2011, BMIbaby, a low-cost subsidiary of British Midland International (BMI), will begin flying from East Midlands Airport to the Balearic Island of Ibiza. The airline will also add a route to the city of Verona in Northern Italy, the setting of Shakespeare’s most famous work, Romeo and Juliet.

In a similar fashion to its rivals, British Airways and Flybe, BMIbaby has pounced on the opportunity to attract summer bookings early, by selling tickets for 2011’s routes long before the New Year ushers in another 12 months of budget cuts, unreliable public transport, and wintry weather that could turn a penguin’s beak blue. Known as ‘forward bookings,’ advance sales also give an airline some idea of how a route is going to perform, long before any planes roll onto the runway.

BMIbaby, which likes to affix the word ‘baby’ to its advertisements (as in, “swap your scarf for your shades, baby!”), as well as its name, will become the only airline at East Midlands to offer a flight to Verona when the flights go live next year. In fact, BMIbaby has no competition whatsoever in Northern Italy, as the airline also carries the only route from the Castle Donnington hub to Venice.

The Ibiza route will operate three times a week from the Midlands, on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, whereas Verona will be served twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday. BMIbaby is also adding flights from Manchester to Palma, Majorca, on May 27, and from Cardiff to Ibiza on May 28 2011. Julian Carr, director at BMIbaby, said of the new routes, “Verona is a beautiful city, the gateway to Northern Italy and the stunning Lake Garda.” Mr Carr noted that the second destination, Ibiza, was more than just a “party island,” offering idyllic beaches and “breath-taking architecture in the Old Town.”

BMIbaby has also introduced routes from East Midlands to Munich and Cologne (Köln) in recent weeks. The two destinations, which are both in Germany, entered circulation on September 17 and October 31 respectively.

At the end of October, an “air cargo bomb” was discovered on a UPS aircraft at East Midlands Airport.

The device, which is alleged to have been just 17 minutes from exploding, would have brought the plane down if it had been successfully detonated, according to UK Home Secretary, Theresa May.

An identical bomb, this time on a FedEx plane, was discovered in Dubai earlier on the same day. The two devices were disguised as ordinary printers, and addressed to a Jewish synagogue in Chicago, raising concerns that the Jewish community in the US might be the target of future attacks.

The ‘printers’ were packed with 400 grams of the chemical, PETN, one of the most explosive substances known, and wired up to a mobile phone.

However, the phone’s SIM card had been removed, indicating that the bombs were designed to explode when a software timer inside the phone reached a pre-set time.

The resulting explosion would have caused a “Lockerbie style” disaster. Chris Yates, a security consultant for the aviation industry, said that the characteristics of the device found in Dubai were used to identify and defuse its counterpart at East Midlands Airport.

If the Dubai bomb had not been discovered, it is entirely possible that the Midlands device could have exploded in a storage shed at the Castle Donnington hub, as security officials had already declared it “safe” and sent the plane on its way.

Newspapers say that bomb disposal experts in the UK had to examine the device between two and seven more times, before concluding that it was about to explode. Claims that it was mere minutes from blowing up have been disputed in recent days.

Experts’ rather sluggish response to the threat highlights both the sophistication of the bomb, and the low levels of security afforded to policing freight. The latter point was further highlighted by the repealing of 30 cargo exemptions on Thursday last week.

Previously, airlines could apply for a licence to allow some cargo items to pass untouched through UK security points.

However, freight planes from Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Qatar, Pakistan, and India are now subject to enhanced security procedures, as fears about another terrorist attack from countries sympathetic to al-Qaeda grow.

The recent bomb plot is iconic because of the audacity of the scheme, and for the sheer luck that was involved in preventing a disaster.

For example, the US-bound plane that stopped at East Midlands was only saved because it was overweight.

The careless behaviour of security officials has also been called into question, especially as the printer-bombs were unloaded by ordinary baggage handlers at East Midlands, who were later “horrified” to discover how close they had been to meeting their maker.

Closer to the present, on Friday, an al-Qaeda cell in Yemen claimed responsibility for the abortive attack on the plane, but the only arrest made so far has been that of a woman in the Yemini capital, Sana’a.

Yemen has risen to prominence as a haven for anti-Western terrorists, including the infamous al-Qaeda. The country has more than 300 “terror chiefs”, claims the Sun newspaper, some of which helped train the ‘Christmas Day Bomber’, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Aurigny Air Services, an airline owned by the government of Guernsey and one of the oldest carriers in the world, is to increase capacity on routes to three UK airports: East Midlands, Stansted and Bristol.

The airline provides an important link to the mainland from the Channel Islands, alongside budget carrier Flybe.

Being the most popular airlines in the area, Aurigny and Flybe enjoy a colourful rivalry, which seems to be centred on prices and Aurigny’s provision of free beverages to customers – “you have to pay for soft drinks with Flybe,” the airline exclaims.

Aurigny’s decision to bolster its UK operations was prompted by rocketing sales at East Midlands and London Stansted, and concerns about the future of Aurigny’s regular flight from Guernsey to Bristol.

The carrier had warned flyers that the Bristol-Guernsey route was facing temporary closure while a propeller-driven aeroplane belonging to the airline was sent for servicing, but a series of complaints forced the airline to rethink its plans.

Speaking about Aurigny’s route to Bristol, airline chief Malcolm Coupar said, “Aurigny does not, as a rule, disrupt its services to such a degree. We are keen to accommodate customers’ concerns".

The airline responded by guaranteeing flights to the southwest throughout December, and boosting capacity on all planes bound for Bristol Airport by 9%, equal to two extra flights a week during November 2010 and March 2011.

East Midlands and Stansted will also see flight capacity rise by 30% on Aurigny routes to the Channel Islands. The additional flights should appear on schedules in November and December 2010, and during March next year.

Planes operating in January and February 2011 will carry “roughly the same” amount of people to and from England, according to the airline, suggesting that Aurigny is pandering to the Christmas holiday market rather than winter sports fans.

Other UK airports served by Aurigny, such as Jersey, Gatwick, and Manchester, as well as French airports Dinard and Grenoble, will not receive any additional flights during the winter season.

Big Green Week, an annual event that celebrates all things sustainable and clean, came to a close at the end of September, with organisers hailing it as the “most successful week yet”. The event, which takes place at East Midlands Airport, is an important part of the hub’s plan to become carbon neutral by the year 2012.

Demonstrating the “importance of being green in the workplace” to hundreds of people and 15 businesses, Big Green Week provided guests with tutorials on a range of activities, from composting and vegetable planting, to bicycle maintenance and ‘eco-driving.’

Eco-driving involves learning new, more efficient driving techniques on a simulator, resulting in a 16% reduction in fuel consumption.

Whether visitors will continue tending parsnips during their regular lives is debatable but, contrary to what Kermit the Frog sang in 1970, Big Green Week seeks to highlight that ‘bein’ green’ is a relatively simple affair, with many attendees choosing just one bad habit to kick for seven days.

Neil Robinson, environment boss at the Castle Donnington airport, was impressed by the turnout for the third annual Big Green Week. He stated: “We have had an exceptional amount of commitment this week and we are proud that everyone is so active in being green”.

East Midlands Airport is well known for its ecological approach to aviation, barring a few arguments with villagers over airport noise. The hub became one of the first airports to adopt biomass energy in March this year, and is currently petitioning Leicester council for permission to build several wind turbines at the site.

The airport also managed to recycle an impressive total of 84% of its overall waste in 2009, more than any other hub in the UK.

East Midlands Airport has been handed the 'Star Regional Airport' trophy for the fourth year in a row. The award, which was given out earlier this month at the annual Travel Bulletin Awards, is a prestigious accolade fought over by some of the biggest airports in the UK.

The awards ceremony took place at the Landmark Hotel on Marylebone Road, London, awarding hotels, airlines and a variety of travel firms that have been judged the best in their particular field by British travel agents.

In the ‘High Fliers’ category, The Castle Donnington hub fought off competition from Bristol, Liverpool John Lennon and Bournemouth International to be crowned the best regional airport in the UK.

The same category also saw Gatwick Airport walk away with the ‘Star Major UK Airport’ award, triumphing over London Heathrow, London Luton and Manchester airports.

Middle Eastern Airline Emirates snatched the ‘Star Business Airline’ trophy from Virgin Atlantic, UAE flag-carrier Etihad and Singapore Airlines, whilst budget flight provider Avro was awarded the ‘Star Charter Seat-Only Company'.

Other winners included the popular theme parks Universal Studios in Florida and Disneyland Paris. Cruise providers Stena Line and Viking River Cruises were also victorious in the ‘Sea Captains’ category.

East Midlands’ Managing Director, Caroline Plant, referred to the Travel Bulletin trophy as “a great achievement,” adding that “in such a competitive market, it really shows the confidence, trust, and respect that our colleagues in the travel industry have for us.”

The full list of winners is available on the official Travel Bulletin website.

East Midlands Airport is to charge a £1 fee for drivers wanting to drop off friends and relatives at the Castle Donnington hub. The fee is part of a wider redevelopment of the airport’s facilities, which has seen the existing car park divided into five ‘zones’ – disabled parking, short- and long-stay areas, car hire, and ‘rapid drop-off.’

The £1 levy has now been introduced at four UK airports; namely, Newcastle, Belfast, Edinburgh, and East Midlands.

Whilst the free drop-off zone has been superceded by the new ‘pay as you stay’ area, airport chief, Penny Coates, notes that the long-stay car park is free for stays of up to an hour. The long-stay car park is located some distance away from the terminal, and users will have to catch a shuttle bus to the airport doors.

Penny claims that the new parking system will ‘enhance the overall experience of flying from East Midlands, and meet the requirements of modern lifestyles.’ Exactly what that means is up for debate, however. The airport hopes that the renovated parking areas will help ease congestion on the M1 and the A453, which leads up to the hub.

Users of the new rapid drop-off zone will be charged £1 for a stay of ten minutes. The same policy was introduced at Belfast Airport last week to enormous criticism. Irish drivers called the scheme ‘confusing,’ noting ‘chaotic scenes.’ Motorists who overstay their welcome can also be clamped, with a £80 release fee.

Bosses at the affected airports have cited ‘customer concerns’ – needing extra time to drop off, for example – and a desire to reduce airport traffic as the impetus for the changes. Irish and Scottish MPs are lobbying to have the £1 levy removed, however, which may encourage the British Airports Authority and Peel Airports, among others, to rethink any plans they had for premium parking services.

East Midlands Airport lost £1m to the recent ash crisis, according to airport chief Brian Conway. The Castle Donnington hub, which is owned by the Manchester Airports Group, was forced to cancel more than 1,000 flights in April and May, as the Eyjafjoll volcano poured ash and dust into European airspace.

The airport’s bid to reduce its carbon footprint has not been hampered by the loss, however – bosses recently unveiled an ‘Environmental Learning Zone’ in a bid to make green issues more accessible to passengers. The new zone will incorporate easy-to-read leaflets on the airport’s battle against pollution and global warming.

Nonetheless, the ash crisis was a significant blow to East Midlands’ profits. Passenger traffic fell by 31% in April, a loss of around 63,000 regular travellers. Income from parking spaces and on-site retail was also down as many Britons were forced to stay at home. Bosses estimated a loss of £100,000 for each day that flights were suspended.

Mr Conway claims that the ash crisis, the hard winter and the recession have produced ‘two years of downturn’ for the aviation industry. ‘The ash impact has compounded the difficulties that the industry in this country is facing’, he explained. The airport is now requesting compensation from the government.

In April, Eyjafjoll could have sold newspapers all on its own, but the volcano’s activity has decreased significantly since then. The Met Office categorises the eruption as ‘paused’, but warns that the mountain must stay quiet for three months before it can be declared officially dormant.

East Midlands Airport (EMA) is ‘pretty well back to normal,’ according to Penny Coates, the airport’s director, almost 14 days after the eruption of the Eyjafjoll volcano grounded hundreds of flights across the world.

The first plane in almost a week landed at the Castle Donnington site on 21st April – last Wednesday morning. The airliner, which was a Thomas Cook branded flight from Tenerife, was greeted by applause from staff. A red carpet was also laid out, and champagne offered to new arrivals.

Up to 3,000 people were shepherded through East Midlands on the same day, many of whom had been given just two hours to pack their bags and make their way to the nearest airport. ‘We were just sitting around the pool,’ one returnee explained. ‘We didn’t dare go too far away in case we got a call to say we'd got a flight.’

Despite all the celebrations, some holidaymakers were visibly despondent over their extended holiday. People on the Thomas Cook flight from Tenerife were described as ‘very quiet,’ and ‘tired’ by fellow passengers. EMA bosses have also cause to feel blue this week, after six days of flight restrictions cost the airport a hefty £600,000.

Efforts to rescue stranded Brits continue even today, but it seems that customers’ patience with world airlines is beginning to wear thin. British Airways (BA), for example, has been accused of profiteering, after the price of tickets skyrocketed at the weekend. BA boss, Willie Walsh, claims that his airline is simply trying to ‘discourage’ new customers.

Monarch and Emirates were also criticised for flying new passengers, when they have yet to return the last group to their home country.

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Despite being one of the first airports in the UK to embrace biomass as an alternative energy source, East Midlands Airport still has a long way to go if it wants to convince local residents of its commitment to the environment.

Campaigners were left stunned last week after airport bosses claimed to have reduced noise complaints by 60% over 2008/9. East Midlands received just 1,064 angry letters in 2009/10, continuing a trend of improvement that began three years ago, when over 7,000 complaints were lodged against the airport.

Whilst the figures may be correct, local residents refuse to accept that the plunge is a result of restrictions put in place by the airport, which currently include fines of £1,000 for every plane that flaunts noise rules.

Steve Charlish, a local campaigner, believes that noise complaints are falling for an entirely different reason – ‘It's no quieter now than it was last year. I’m still woken at 4am with planes thundering over my house. People just think complaining is an act of futility,’

During November 2009, a public forum was given the opportunity to discuss a ‘noise action plan’ with representatives from the airport. This document, which has since been sent to the Department of Transport, proposed no further changes to the airport’s noise controls, despite suggestions from 90 people.

To the casual observer, East Midlands’ commitment to biomass technology might appear suspect: a novel way of generating electricity, or a thinly veiled tactic to divert attention away from the battle against noise pollution? Local villagers remain unconvinced.

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'Tree Power' for East Midlands

Just one month after British Airways announced a plan to turn waste food into jet fuel, East Midlands Airport has found a novel way to generate power, whilst simultaneously reducing its carbon dioxide emissions. The Castle Donnington site plans to become the first airport in the UK to produce renewable energy from willow trees.

Otherwise known as biomass, energy derived from ‘forest residue,’ such as tree stumps and fallen branches, or from specially cultivated plantations, is becoming very popular in modern industry, especially as the environment continues to dominate global politics. Organic material is burned in a biomass boiler, and the energy produced is used to power everything from light bulbs to heavy machinery.

East Midlands has already planted its first few willow trees, but the farm is not expected to be ready for harvesting until 2013. The 26-acre site is located to the north of the airport, between the M1 motorway and the town of Castle Donnington. Bosses hope that their new project will reduce the airport’s CO2 emissions by 350 tonnes a year.

‘This is a landmark day for East Midlands Airport,’ Neil Robinson, sustainability chief at the site, said. ‘We are taking another important step towards our overall goal to make our ground operations carbon neutral by 2012.’ Mr. Robinson noted that the willow farm was just ‘one in a long line’ of eco-friendly projects yet to be unveiled.

East Midlands wants to use its new source of energy to heat the main terminal building, but critics are worried that the extra trees might encourage more birds to move into the airport’s largely rural surroundings. The site already employs ‘bird scarers’ to keep avian pests away from aeroplanes.

East Midlands Airport is to sack up to 30 security staff in a bid to cut costs over the winter season.

Bosses have blamed fewer flights and a slump in passenger numbers for the decision, but as UK airports move towards automated security measures, sacked officers could be forgiven for thinking that they have been replaced by a robot.

The e-Border system employed at Bristol and Cardiff airports removed the need for experienced check-in staff, whilst Gordon Brown’s full-body scanners have put the lid on recruitment at Manchester and London Heathrow.

Modern airports will always require security staff, but there’s no denying that robotic hardware and fancy scanners are becoming the norm at British borders. It begs the question: can a computer be trusted to safeguard planes and passengers?

Critics say that the human eye is superior to a few lines of code, because the Prime Minister’s scanners cannot detect low-density materials such as plastic and liquids, both of which are commonly used in homemade bombs.

Of course, these items would be immediately suspicious to a trained security guard.

East Midlands Airport claims that passenger safety will not be compromised by the latest round of redundancies, which will come into effect over the coming weeks. Unite, the general workers' union, is maintaining a dialogue with the airport, in an effort to reduce the redundancies.

Whether the airport will be able to deliver on a promise to upgrade airport security is up for debate, but until the new scanners arrive, the remaining security staff could have their work cut out for them.

East Midlands Airport is not currently affected by the adverse weather conditions, but passengers are advised to check with their airline before departing.

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The A453, a major road linking Nottingham to the M1 motorway, must be upgraded if a plan to treble the number of jobs at the airport is to go ahead. Officials hope to boost the resident workforce to an impressive 26,000 over the next two decades.

East Midlands is one of the most important regional airports in the UK, but one that continues to endure relative isolation from neighbouring cities, Leicester and Nottingham. The Highways Agency (HA) is proposing a £194m overhaul of the A453, effectively transforming the road into a dual carriageway.

Ian Briggs, a local planning expert, was keen to see residents embrace the airport as a seat of commerce, but also as one of the region’s largest employers. East Midlands currently employs around 9,000 people, many of whom are forced to commute from the surrounding towns and cities.

Improvements to the A453 could help alleviate congestion on the M1 motorway, reducing accidents, and attracting more customers from the north. The Campaign to Protect Rural England is not impressed with the news, however, and has lobbied to prevent any expansion of the A453, fearing the loss of local wildlife and habitats, and an increase in air pollution.

East Midlands is the second airport this year to be hampered by poor infrastructure, behind Robin Hood. Officials at Doncaster were left shaking their heads when an £11m shortfall in funding derailed plans for a motorway link road – a road that could have brought an extra £1bn a year into the local area.

The outcome of a public inquiry will determine the fate of the proposed A453 expansion.

EasyJet and East Midlands Airport have parted ways. The airline, noted for its orange and white livery, cited traffic stagnation as the reason for its decision, which could see hundreds of jobs lost before the end of the year.

Despite a much-publicised row with Luton Airport, EasyJet remains one of the most profitable carriers in the country, weathering the recession virtually unscathed and emerging with its pockets lined with jewels.

Few could fault the airline’s business plan.

Since then, EasyJet has proved a difficult beast to calm. After downsizing at two major UK airports, the airline is now determined to take its operations abroad to more profitable hubs in mainland Europe.

Budget airline BMIbaby has pledged to plug the hole left by EasyJet’s departure. Crawford Rix, managing director of the carrier, was keen to support the beleaguered airport, saying that East Midlands is "home to BMIbaby", and wanted to reassure the people that "we will remain committed to the airport”.

During August, Ryanair and EasyJet axed flights at Newcastle, London-Luton, Robin Hood, East Midlands and Manchester, leading to accusations of bullying on the part of the airlines. The pair dissolved hundreds of jobs between them, simply because airports refused to acquiesce to their demands.

Despite moving to airports with cheaper landing fees, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary had the gall to increase check-in costs by 50%. Factoring in all the obligatory charges, a typical ‘budget’ airplane ticket now costs in excess of £100.

Jet2 has been quick to capitalise on Ryanair’s escape from UK airports, and other budget airlines will be all too eager to fill EasyJet’s shoes.

Budget airline Jet2 has announced plans to establish a base at East Midlands, creating hundreds of new jobs and bringing an estimated 130,000 extra passengers to the airport.

The airline, recently applauded for its commitment to Newcastle Airport, will house one silver aircraft at East Midlands, with a view to building a larger fleet in the future. The lone Boeing 757 is expected to operate nine flights a week.

Jet2 has enjoyed an upwelling of funds, forging new routes at three airports across the UK – Leeds-Bradford, Newcastle and now East Midlands.

Airport officials were delighted with the news, which could help develop the region as a whole, generating admin jobs in Leicester and Derby, and control positions at the airport itself.

The airport director, Penny Coates, explained how the news
"is a positive indicator for the future" and puts the airport "in a strong position".

East Midlands survived the bank holiday weekend relatively unscathed, despite a rash of strikes affecting many UK airports.

A nearby boat show, an annual event hosted by the Inland Waterways Association, caused minor delays for tourists travelling from Nottingham, but the airport reported no further problems.

Jet2’s new base will boost the airport’s summer holiday roster by seven “fantastic scorching sun destinations,” to quote the airline.

Flights to the Canary Islands, Dalaman in Turkey, Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt and Tenerife in Spain will commence in May 2010.

View the full list of destinations on the Jet2 website, or book a package holiday through Jet2’s official tour operator, Jet2Holidays.

Last week saw some good news emerge from East Midlands Airport, with officials announcing a record year in 2008. Approximately 5.6 million passengers took advantage of the facilities and routes offered by the airport, which has been working hard to raise its profile in the local area and beyond during recent years. The opening three quarters of the year were particularly successful and East Midlands Airport managed to record a total increase with regards to passenger numbers of 3.9 per cent compared to the figures for 2007. November and December were slightly more challenging months for the airport, as potential travellers prioritised the purchase of festive gifts over last minute long weekends.

The managing director of East Midlands Airport, Penny Coates, revealed her excitement at the news. She believes the increase in passenger numbers is a “great achievement” for the officials at the airport and “evidence that the efforts” being made to continually improve the airport “experience” for customers have culminated in success.

The year ahead is likely to be a tough one for East Midlands Airport and, like numerous managing directors at other airports across the United Kingdom, Coates revealed that the airport is fully expecting to see an overall decline in passenger numbers as the recession impacts upon the aviation industry. However, despite the challenges which the following year may bring, she believes that those in charge at the airport will remain fully “committed to improving the customer experience” which has proved so attractive over the last year.

Anyone who is a regular reader of the weekend newspapers' travel sections will know that a frequent cause for complaint is the seemingly unfair charges for excess baggage. People who have weighed their luggage on the bathroom scales at home are often caught out at the airport and it is a case of having to shed some of the contents or pay up, to the tune of up to £15 per kilo. The situation is made more difficult nowadays by the rule that family members cannot pool their luggage allowance.

After a Trading Standards visit to East Midlands airport discovered inaccuracies on their scales, passengers are bound to be left wondering whether they have been incorrectly charged. 17% of the scales used at the airport were found to be wrong (nine out of fifty two) and three of these were found to be so far out that they were taken out of use there and then. The good news for travellers, however, is that two of these three were under-weighing so worked to the passengers' favour.

For anyone worried about the safety aspect of allowing too much luggage on board in terms of weight, there is said to be very little risk, with passengers themselves coming in all shapes and sizes!

Prior to this visit by Trading Standards, the airport themselves checked their scales on an annual basis and re-calibrated the scales twice a year. In the light of the findings, however, the scales will now be checked each day.

Anyone who feels they may have been overcharged should contact the airport who will investigate the matter. Alternatively they can get in touch online with Consumer Direct.

Surprise figures released this month have revealed that nine out of ten complaints made at East Midlands Airport are from the same thirteen people. Figures have also shown that the number of complaints made annually at the airport decreased between 2006 and 2007. According to the Community and Environment Investment Report, the total number of complaints made dropped from 7,978 to 7128 in 2007, a drop of four percent, but interestingly, the number of different people complaining decreased by almost half, from 580 to 295. The same report showed that complaints reached an all time low in December 2007 when only 264 grievances were recorded.

With 5,535 complaints, aircraft noise was the main grievance at East Midlands airport, followed by 829 complaints about low-flying aircraft. The figures also revealed that there was little difference in the number of complaints made during the day or at night, with 3668 grievances being logged between 7 am and 11 pm and 3460 between 11 am and 7 pm. A spokesperson for East Midlands airport confirmed that management was pleased with the drop in complaints, adding that the airport investigated and responded to each complaint logged within a maximum of ten days. He said, “in some cases we visit the person and the feedback has sometimes helped us change the way aircraft operate.” In response to the achievements the airport has pledged to continue its commitment to corporate social responsibility in the hope that complaints will have fallen further at the end of the current year.

We know now that in terms of airports, the likes of Heathrow in the UK are making our aviation industry look pretty appalling on the world stage, but how are the individual airlines getting on?

A recent survey carried out by the online time-keepers and consumer website www.flightontime.info has revealed that of all the low cost airlines in the UK, bmibaby come out as champions with an average delay time so far in 2008 of just over 10 minutes. Following them is Ryanair, then Flybe, then Monarch and then easyjet. In the scheduled airlines' world, Eastern Airlines are top of the pops with an average delay so far in 2008 of only 6.6 mins, followed by Air Berlin and then BMI regional. In the world of chartered flights, MyTravel Airways win the gold medal and then Thomson Fly and then First Choice. Interestingly here Thomas Cook doesn’t make the top three.

The survey went further and looked at the best airlines for the most popular routes in the UK, one of them being the London to Edinburgh route. The overall best performer for this was easyjet. They were also the most punctual when it came to the Aberdeen route and came in second when it came to Glasgow.

The less-known Monarch Airlines will be pleased with the result and for coming above easyjet in a few of the results. In an age when all flights seem to be delayed in the UK, they would do well to use it as a major selling point.

East Midlands airport is gearing up to become one of July’s busiest UK airports after it was confirmed that Donington Park had won an agreement to host the British Grand Prix for ten years, starting from 2010. It is expected that, given Donington’s close proximity to the East Midlands, large numbers of F1 fans will pass through the airport as the most convenient way to travel to the Grand Prix.

A spokeswoman for East Midlands airport said that they could not be sure at this stage how much of an increase there will be in passenger traffic, but it is certain that the airport must be prepared to deal with much larger numbers than usual. It is expected that, as well as ordinary F1 fans, there will be a marked increase in the number of celebrities and high-flying clients using East Midlands, who will no doubt make use of the executive lounge which has already been established at the airport, offering complimentary food and drink to VIPs.

As well as bringing in more business for the airport, it is also expected that the new deal will be lucrative for the various charter companies in the area. Donington company Air Charter Service already manages the helicopter charter service at Silverstone but managing director Tony Bauckham predicts that there will be an increased demand for private jets in addition to helicopters, because of Donington’s close proximity to an airfield.

Commenting on the Donington’s new agreement, circuit owners Simon Gillett and Lee Gill expressed delight that the development of the Park would bring new investment to the area, “while securing the future of one of the most important and significant sporting events in Britain.”

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.

The first aid flight to leave the UK for Burma departed from East Midlands Airport on May 14, twelve days after the country was destroyed by a cyclone. Chartered by Shelterbox, a Cornwall-based disaster relief charity, the organisation is one of a handful of agencies to have received permission from the Burmese government to take aid to the devastated country.

The aid flight landed in Yangon, the nation’s capital, on Thursday May 15, where it joined other British charities to have left overseas locations. It carried 1000 aid packages, each containing a ten-person tent, sleeping mats, mosquito netting, a stove, tools and water purifying tablets, with the aim of giving relief to thousands of survivors.

It is estimated that more than 200,000 Burmese citizens died in the cyclone, which hit Burma in the early hours of May 3, but the UN say that around one and a half million people are homeless, with hundreds of thousands in a critical condition due to lack of aid and the spread of disease (although the Burmese state media is reporting a figure only a fraction of UN estimates).

Since the cyclone hit, the Disasters Emergency Committee Cyclone Appeal has raised in excess of £6 million and more than forty aid flights have landed in Burma, but most have been prevented from distributing their aid due to strict check points controlled by the country’s military forces. Gordon Brown has called for an emergency summit saying that, although some relief is now being let through, the actions of the Burmese authorities are still "not good enough".

Nottingham East Midlands Airport (NEMA) has recently been given permission to increase their airspace by the Civil Aviations Authority. This change will allow for larger numbers of flights into and out of the airport, making travel from NEMA easier and more convenient than ever before.

You can view more information and up-to-date news about NEMA on their official website.