Brussels Airlines to cut flights to northern Italy by 30% due to conoravirus

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Lufthansa <LHAG.DE> subsidiary Brussels Airlines said on Friday that it will cut its flights to northern Italy by 30% from March 2 to 14 due to the coronavirus outbreak in the region.

"Because of the rapidly declining demand in air travel within Europe, Brussels Airlines has taken the decision to reduce flight frequencies on a number of routes in order to limit the negative economic impact on its business," the company said in a statement.

The decision will affect Milan, Venice, Bologna and Rome. The airline said it would look into economic measures such as temporary technical unemployment a company-wide hiring freeze.

(Reporting by Marine Strauss @StraussMarine; editing by Foo Yun Chee)