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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as UK airports move towards automated security measures, sacked officers could be forgiven for thinking that they have been replaced by a robot.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.