Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) said on Monday that Fastjet Tanzania, a low-cost airline, no longer qualifies to operate in the country due to frequent cancellation of flights.

TCAA Director General Hamza Johari told a news conference in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam that the airline also owed huge amounts of money to service providers, including the TCAA.

Johari said Fastjet owed 606 million U.S. dollars to TCAA through provision of services, including security.

He urged all service providers that were owed by Fastjet to send their invoices to the TCAA so that the authority could order the airline to pay its debts.

The TCAA gave Fastjet 28 days to submit its financial and business plans.

Johari said currently the airline had insufficient planes for flights, a situation that had led the airline to lose qualifications to do business in the country.

"We are calling upon people to look for alternative airlines as Fastjet cannot operate," he said.