Ryanair forces South Africans to do Afrikaans test to prove nationality

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Ryanair forces South Africans to do Afrikaans test to prove nationality

Airline accused of discrimination after it introduces test due to ‘high prevalence of fraudulent passports’

Kalyeena Makortoff
@kalyeena
Mon 6 Jun 2022 10.29 BST
First published on Mon 6 Jun 2022 08.34 BST

Ryanair is facing accusations of racial discrimination after forcing South Africans to take a test in Afrikaans before boarding flights home from the UK and Europe.

The budget airline, which claimed the “simple questionnaire” was part of efforts to tackle fraudulent South African passport holders, is facing criticism for conducting the general knowledge test in a language that is the third most used in the country and had a controversial role in the oppression of black citizens during apartheid.

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A spokesperson for the airline said that “due to the high prevalence of fraudulent South African passports, we require passengers travelling to the UK to fill out a simple questionnaire issued in Afrikaans. If they are unable to complete this questionnaire, they will be refused travel and issued with a full refund.”

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However, it is unclear why the Ryanair test has been conducted in Afrikaans rather than others such as Zulu and Xhosa, which are the first and second most used across South African households.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/06/ryanair-south-africans-afrikaans-test-nationality-passports

Link to tweet

[Bev54]

1. Why does Ryanair think they have the job as immigration officials?

It is not up to the airlines, leave it up to border control to deal with it.

[Wolf Frankula]

2. In South Africa, as in many other African countries

A lot of people speak at least two languages. The language they speak at home, and the language they speak in public. I was told don't ask what tribe somebody is, that is rude. Ask, 'What language do you speak at home?' A lot of people will not know Afrikaans, but they will know English.

Wolf