The Brazilian government will reduce the number of take-offs and landings at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport, to a maximum of 36 per hour, and reduce air traffic in the region, a government official told media on Thursday, two days after Brazil's worst ever air crash.

Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira, president of state airport administration company Infraero, said that the National Civil Aviation Authority had decided to reduce the number of take-offs and landings.

Officially 44 take-offs and landings an hour are allowed at the Congonhas airport, Brazil's busiest airport.

On Tuesday, an Airbus 320 crashed on landing at Congonhas airport, killing nearly 200 people.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2007)