LONDON aEUR Budget airline Ryanair claims it is forcing South African tourists to the U.K. for a test in Afrikaans to prove their citizenship in an apparent attempt to eliminate those with fake passports.
Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, is based in Dublin. It mainly operates routes within Europe, but doesn’t fly from South Africa. After reports about the quiz circulated over the weekend, Ryanair confirmed Monday that it is administering the quiz. This angered travelers.
Afrikaans, one of South Africa’s 11 official languages, is spoken by approximately 13% of South Africa’s people. It is a Dutch-based language that was developed by many of South Africa’s white settlers. It is closely associated with South Africa’s apartheid regime, which saw white minority rule end in 1994.
Ryanair issued a short press release stating that “Due to the high number of fraudulent South African passports,” passengers traveling to the U.K. must complete a simple questionnaire in Afrikaans. They will not be allowed to travel if they cannot complete the questionnaire. If they do, they will receive a full refund.
On Twitter, the British High Commission in Pretoria stated that the test was not required by the U.K government. It linked to a website which has official rules for South African visitors.
