A major British airport is warning passengers to expect the delays plaguing travel to continue for months.

British travelers faced more disruptions during the Easter holiday break as two major airlines, British Airways and easyJet, canceled about 100 flights Wednesday.

British airline easyJet said it has rejected an unsolicited takeover approach as it announced plans to raise another 1.2 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) from shareholders to shore up its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Leaders from Britain’s aviation industry have joined forces to urge the British government to ensure that popular European destinations face the least onerous coronavirus travel restrictions when holidays are permitted again.

(Owen Humphreys/ PA via AP)LONDON – Stir-crazy Britons rushed to book overseas vacations after Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled plans to slowly ease a national lockdown, boosting optimism that travel restrictions will be removed in time for the summer holiday season. TUI, the U.K.’s largest tour operator said bookings increased six-fold on Monday, the company’s busiest day in more than a month. International travel has nearly ground to a halt globally, so the increases are a sign of hope for the beleaguered industry. Others criticized the government for failing to guarantee current levels of support for businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. But Johnson announced plans to ease those restrictions as the rapid rollout of vaccines helps drive down new infections and hospitalizations.

LONDON British Airways parent company said Thursday it will cut flights due to coronavirus travel restrictions and quarantine requirements and confirmed it is raising 2.7 billion euros ($3.2 billion) through the sale of new shares. Qatar Airways, which owns 25% of IAG, has undertaken to take its share of the cash call. Over the past few weeks, British tourists in particular have faced travel chaos after the government took countries off its safe list. Other airlines have also had to cut back on flights, including EasyJet, which earlier this week bemoaned the unpredictable restrictions. It also said it has reached an agreement in principle with the Unite union over changes to the pay and conditions of British Airways cabin crew, with a ballot expected shortly.

ROME Italian officials voiced outrage Tuesday over an online advertisement by budget airline easyJet describing the southern Italian region of Calabria as lacking tourists because of its history of mafia and earthquakes. Opposition leader Matteo Salvini of the right-wing League party said easyJet should be ashamed of itself. Calabria's governor, Jole Santelli, said the text on easyJet's website was offensive, distorted and had a clear racist flavor." In the original text, easyJet wrote that Calabria offered visitors an authentic taste of Italy, even though it had bizarre houses perched on cliffs. The original intent of the text was to underline how Calabria has been overlooked overseas from a tourism point of view, the statement said.

Following are developments Thursday related to the national and global response, the work place and the spread of the virus. ________________________IMMOBILIZED: Job cuts in the transportation industry have arrived this week by the thousands. Nissan Motor Co. is closing its manufacturing plants in the northeastern Catalonia region in Spain, costing 3,000 jobs. Thailand says that 8.4 million people are at risk of losing their jobs this year due to pandemic, with the tourism sector being the most affected. The jobs of 4.4 million people, or 43% of 10.3 million people working in the service sector outside of tourism, are also at risk.

LONDON U.K.-based budget airline easyJet said Tuesday that highly sophisticated hackers accessed the email addresses and travel details of approximately 9 million customers. It also said that following a forensic investigation, it found that the credit card details of only 2,208 people were accessed and that those affected have already been contacted. Since we became aware of the incident, it has become clear that owing to COVID-19 there is heightened concern about personal data being used for online scams," said easyJet Chief Executive Officer Johan Lundgren. Lundgren apologized to those customers affected and said every business must continue to "stay agile to stay ahead of the threat.The airline, which has grounded its fleet in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, did not reveal when the hack took place. Some airlines are hoping to start flying again in the summer as lockdown restrictions in Europe start being eased.

An Emirates Airline A-380 leads the "Al Fursan", or the Knights, a UAE Air Force aerobatic display team during the opening day of the Dubai Airshow, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)DUBAI Airbus says British budget carrier easyJet will buy 12 more A320neos it previously had options to purchase, pushing the airlines total order for the single-aisle plane to 159. The airline operates mostly across Europe with a fleet of entirely Airbus aircraft, serving 155 European airports. The list price of the A320neo in 2018 was $110.6 million, making the order for 12 worth about $1.3 billion. The announcement was made on Tuesday, the third day of the biennial Dubai Airshow.

Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images(CNN) - This week's British Airways strike has caused chaos for an estimated 280,000 passengers who were due to fly with the airline. All eight daily easyJet flights from Nice to London were sold out on Monday and Tuesday, the British Airways strike days. British Airways is selling return fares to Nice on other dates in September for 58 -- making this week's flights nearly 22 times as expensive. Ironically, the flight is sold as a British Airways flight, but operated by Air Belgium, so it is exempt from the strike action. A two-night trip to Tokyo, departing Monday, cost 2,704 ($3,341), going out on Japan Airlines in premium economy (economy was sold out) and returning Wednesday in economy on British Airways.