Aeroporti di Roma (AdR), which operates Rome's airports, will temporarily lay off 340 of its 2,800 workers, AdR Chairman Fabrizio Palenzona said.

AdR said in a statement it expected its passenger traffic to fall around 10 percent in 2009, more than brokers expected. The forecast triggered a 2.5 percent fall in Gemina's share price.

"Cassa integrazione, not redundancies, are being discussed. With this contraction of flights we can't do anything else," Palenzona told reporters on the sidelines of a parliamentary hearing.

Cassa integrazione is an industry/government-funded scheme which finances temporary layoffs.