A Tanzanian airline Air Tanzania has been detained in Canada in a dispute over land compensation dating back to the 1980s, the government said on Saturday.

The decision by the Canadian authorities to seize the Bombardier Q400 is not directly related to Tanzanian Airlines, the country's official carrier, but is linked to a dispute between the country, Bloomberg News reported. East Africa and a South African farmer are seeking compensation for land they were expropriated in Tanzania 40 years ago.

This is the second time an Air Tanzania plane has been detained in connection with the compensation dispute.

"The person responsible for this situation is the same person who managed to seize a plane for us in South Africa," the minister told Tanzania's national radio.

The Tanzanian government appealed the case in South Africa and managed to release the plane.