South African passengers must first take a test with Ryanair – in Afrikaans, although that is only one of several official languages in the country. Does the airline discriminate like that?
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has come under fire for language tests that South African passengers have to take before flying to the UK.
Several of those affected expressed outrage on social media that they should take a test with several knowledge questions in Afrikaans, as reported by the BBC on Monday, among others.
Afrikaans is one of several official languages in South Africa and is only spoken by a predominantly white minority of the population. Those affected complained that the practice was discriminatory and reminiscent of the system of oppression from the apartheid era of discrimination against people of non-European descent in the country.
When asked by dpa, Ryanair said it had introduced the test in Afrikaans after becoming aware of an increased number of fake South African passports. “If passengers are unable to complete the test, they will be reimbursed for their flight costs,” it said. According to the report, the test is not a requirement of British border authorities.
