Ryanair forces South Africans to do Afrikaans test to prove nationality

theguardian.com:

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 that the “simple questionnaire” was part of efforts to tackling 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.

Some also questioned the content of the test, saying that topics including which side of the road South Africans drive on would not in itself determine whether someone was a genuine passport holder.

Ryanair was contacted for comment. A spokesperson for the airline told the Financial Times 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.”

The test appears to have been enforced by the airline after the South African government raised concerns over an alleged spate of ID fraud, saying criminals were manufacturing and selling fake South African passports.

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

One South African passenger told the Financial Times that Ryanair’s test was “extremely exclusionary” and said that the airline had not considered the implications of the test given that black South Africans were forced to use Afrikaans during the apartheid regime.