Helsinki - Citing lower demand for air travel, Finnish flag carrier Finnair on Friday said it planned to lay-off staff in its on the technical services division to save costs.

The lay-offs were to last from two weeks to three months, the carrier said, adding it hoped to make savings of 7 million euros (9.4 million dollars) on the move.

The division has some 1,600 employees, and statutory consultative negotiations with unions have begun.

The Finnair Group has an ongoing cost-cutting plan of some 100 million euros, and management is in talks with other divisions including flight operations, catering and ground handling company Northport.

The group had some 9,600 employees at the end of the last year. (dpa)