Budget airline Tigerair Australia has been forced to axe its services to Bali effective Friday, February 3 following the decision by Indonesian authorities not to provide the carrier with final approval to operate to and from Bali.

According to a statement by the carrier, authorities in Indonesia had required “an alternative regulatory solution for Tigerair’s operations to Bali” – a solution the airline says would have taken at least six months to put in place.

“As a result of this development, Tigerair Australia has made the difficult decision to withdraw from flying between Australia and Bali permanently, effective today Friday 3 February 2017,” the airline’s statement said.

Tigerair initially had its permission to fly withdrawn last month, following accusations that it had broken charter flight rules by picking up flights previously operated by its parent airline Virgin Australia, according to Reuters. A few weeks ago, the carrier informed passengers that it had been given approval by the Indonesian government to resume flights.

Customers currently booked on flights to Bali will be offered full refunds that will be automatically processed, the airline’s statement said. Travellers currently in Bali, meanwhile, will be contacted with alternative flight options on Virgin Australia and other airlines.

Due to a high number of calls to its customer call centre, Tigerair recommends passengers wait to receive proactive communications regarding their options. Those flying this weekend will be contacted today, while travellers flying on Monday, February 6 will be contacted “as soon as possible”.

tigerair.com.au