Ryanair has dropped its controversial Afrikaans quiz after it mandated that the South African passport holders must answer before they could board their flights to or from London in the United Kingdom.

Ryanair drops Afrikaans quiz after backlash

Ryanair drops Afrikaans test after backlash

Ryanair&nbsp;has dropped a requirement for South African passengers to prove their nationality before travelling by completing a test in Afrikaans, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said after the policy drew a backlash among South Africans.

The South African government said last week it was taken aback by the low cost carrier's decision to force UK-bound travelers holding the country's passport to take the test, calling the move a "backward profiling system".

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/european-airport-labour-strife-staff-shortages-disrupt-summer-travel-486652">European airport labour strife, staff shortages disrupt summer travel</a>

Afrikaans is spoken by just 12 per cent&nbsp;of the 58 million people in the country and often associated with apartheid and white minority rule.

O'Leary, whose airline does not operate flights to and from South Africa but carries more passengers around Europe than anyone else, described the South African government's profiling accusation as "rubbish" but said the test had been dropped.

Watch |&nbsp;Europe's largest Airline Ryanair faces outrage over test in Afrikaans for South Africans

"The South African government have acknowledged that there's a problem with the vast number of false or fake South African passports", O'Leary told a news conference in Brussels on Tuesday, citing a surge in false South African passports on a route between Turkey and Ireland.

"Our team issued a test in Afrikaans of 12 simple questions like what's the name of the mountain outside Pretoria. They have no difficulty completing that, but we've we didn't think it was appropriate either. So we have ended the Afrikaans test because doesn't make any sense".

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/europes-largest-airline-ryanair-faces-outrage-over-test-in-afrikaans-for-south-africans-486116/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Ryanair has dropped a requirement for South African passengers to prove their nationality before travelling by completing a test in Afrikaans, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said after the policy drew a backlash among South Africans.

Ryanair has dropped a requirement for South African passengers to prove their nationality before travelling by completing a test in Afrikaans, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said after the policy drew a backlash among South Africans. The South African government said last week it was taken aback by the low cost carrier's decision to force UK-bound travelers holding the country's passport to take the test, calling the move a "backward profiling system". Also read | European airport labour strife, staff shortages disrupt summer travel Afrikaans is spoken by just 12 per cent of the 58 million people in the country and often associated with apartheid and white minority rule. O'Leary, whose airline does not operate flights to and from South Africa but carries more passengers around Europe than anyone else, described the South African government's profiling accusation as "rubbish" but said the test had been dropped. Watch | Europe's largest Airline Ryanair faces outrage over test in Afrikaans for South Africans "The South African government have acknowledged that there's a problem with the vast number of false or fake South African passports", O'Leary told a news conference in Brussels on Tuesday, citing a surge in false South African passports on a route between Turkey and Ireland. "Our team issued a test in Afrikaans of 12 simple questions like what's the name of the mountain outside Pretoria. They have no difficulty completing that, but we've we didn't think it was appropriate either. So we have ended the Afrikaans test because doesn't make any sense".

Ryanair drops Afrikaans test after backlash in South Africa

Irish airline Ryanair asked South African travellers to take an Afrikaans test to prove their nationality before boarding flights. Terming it discriminatory, South Africans have condemned the controversial language test by the airline. The policy has caused outrage but the airline says it is still insisting that all South Africans travelling to the UK on flights to take the test. Ryanair asked South Africans flying to Britain and Ireland to fill out a questionnaire. Notably, the passengers who fail to complete it are denied travel. The tickets are also fully refunded apparently.&nbsp;

The row erupted after the Irish budget airline admitted on Monday (June 6) that it required South Africans flying to Britain and Ireland to fill out a questionnaire to test their knowledge of Afrikaans.&nbsp;

The airline said in a statement: "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."&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ukraine-war-zelensky-says-millions-of-people-could-starve-because-of-russias-blockade-of-ports-486560">Ukraine war: Zelensky says millions of people could starve because of Russia's blockade of ports</a>

WATCH |&nbsp;How will Boris Johnson tackles UK's cost-of-living?

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/how-will-boris-johnson-tackles-uks-cost-of-living-486570/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-foreign-secretary-sacks-top-advisor-for-her-remarks-on-pm-johnson-486546">UK foreign secretary sacks top advisor for her remarks on PM Johnson</a>

Importantly, Afrikaans was made mandatory during apartheid -- and the official language of education, alongside English. At that time, it prompted nationwide protests by black South Africans. Afrikaans played a controversial role in the oppression of black citizens during apartheid. &nbsp;

Afrikaans is just one of 11 official languages in South Africa. It is commonly used by around 12 per cent of the country's population of nearly 60 million.&nbsp;

Responding to the incident, South Africa on Tuesday said it was surprised. The country's Department of Home Affairs said in a statement: "We are taken aback by the decision of this airline because the Department regularly communicates with all airlines to update them on how to validate South African passports, including the look and feel."&nbsp;

A South African man told BBC that he was "shocked" and felt "oppressed". Dinesh Joseph was flying from Lanzarote to London in May. He said that the airline gave him the Afrikaans test.&nbsp;

Joseph told the BBC's Newshour: "I was seething, I felt really triggered... there was a sense of anxiety and anger inside of me. It's callous and insensitive to force people to write a test which would evoke so much emotion around it - the language of apartheid was Afrikaans."&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

Irish airline Ryanair asked South African travellers to take an Afrikaans test to prove their nationality before boarding flights. Terming it discriminatory, South Africans have condemned the controversial language test by the airline.

Irish airline Ryanair asked South African travellers to take an Afrikaans test to prove their nationality before boarding flights. Terming it discriminatory, South Africans have condemned the controversial language test by the airline. The policy has caused outrage but the airline says it is still insisting that all South Africans travelling to the UK on flights to take the test. Ryanair asked South Africans flying to Britain and Ireland to fill out a questionnaire. Notably, the passengers who fail to complete it are denied travel. The tickets are also fully refunded apparently. The row erupted after the Irish budget airline admitted on Monday (June 6) that it required South Africans flying to Britain and Ireland to fill out a questionnaire to test their knowledge of Afrikaans. The airline said in a statement: "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." ALSO READ | Ukraine war: Zelensky says millions of people could starve because of Russia's blockade of ports WATCH | How will Boris Johnson tackles UK's cost-of-living? × ALSO READ | UK foreign secretary sacks top advisor for her remarks on PM Johnson Importantly, Afrikaans was made mandatory during apartheid -- and the official language of education, alongside English. At that time, it prompted nationwide protests by black South Africans. Afrikaans played a controversial role in the oppression of black citizens during apartheid. Afrikaans is just one of 11 official languages in South Africa. It is commonly used by around 12 per cent of the country's population of nearly 60 million. Responding to the incident, South Africa on Tuesday said it was surprised. The country's Department of Home Affairs said in a statement: "We are taken aback by the decision of this airline because the Department regularly communicates with all airlines to update them on how to validate South African passports, including the look and feel." A South African man told BBC that he was "shocked" and felt "oppressed". Dinesh Joseph was flying from Lanzarote to London in May. He said that the airline gave him the Afrikaans test. Joseph told the BBC's Newshour: "I was seething, I felt really triggered... there was a sense of anxiety and anger inside of me. It's callous and insensitive to force people to write a test which would evoke so much emotion around it - the language of apartheid was Afrikaans." (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Outrage after Ryanair forces South Africans to prove nationality with controversial Afrikaans test

In a bizarre diktat, Ryanair is forcing South Africans to prove nationality before flying by taking a language test in Afrikaans.

A test in Afrikaans before flying: Ryanair forces South Africans to prove nationality before flying

The new rule implemented by Ryanair to put South African through a general knowledge test in Afrikaans has sparked serious allegations of discrimination. The airline is currently conducting the test for every person travelling with a South African passport and it is completely in Afrikaans. However, a lot of people were quick to point out that there were 11 other languages which are popular in South Africa and Afrikaans ranks third. It is also a language that played a controversial role in oppression of black citizens during the notorious apartheid period. There were also some concerns raised about the subject matter of the test as they felt it will not help in identifying a genuine passport holder.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-response-to-north-koreas-weapons-tests-us-south-korea-launch-eight-ballistic-missiles-485391" hreflang="en">South Korea, US fire eight ballistic missiles after North Korea's weapons test</a>

Zulu and Xhosa are currently the two most popular languages in South Africa.

Ryanair, on the other hand, made it clear that the only purpose of the test is to curb the high number of people who travel on a fake South African passport. A spokesperson for the company 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.”

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-rebellion-of-54-tory-mps-british-prime-minister-boris-johnson-to-face-confidence-vote-485496">After rebellion of 54 Tory MPs, British PM Johnson to face confidence vote</a>

The decision to conduct the test was taken after South African government said that the manufacturing and selling fake South African passports has gone up in the recent times. But the British government has said that the test is not compulsory.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE -

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1">(With inputs from agencies)</iframe>

(With inputs from agencies)

The new rule implemented by Ryanair to put South African through a general knowledge test in Afrikaans has sparked serious allegations of discrimination. The airline is currently conducting the test for every person travelling with a South African passport and it is completely in Afrikaans.

The new rule implemented by Ryanair to put South African through a general knowledge test in Afrikaans has sparked serious allegations of discrimination. The airline is currently conducting the test for every person travelling with a South African passport and it is completely in Afrikaans. However, a lot of people were quick to point out that there were 11 other languages which are popular in South Africa and Afrikaans ranks third. It is also a language that played a controversial role in oppression of black citizens during the notorious apartheid period. There were also some concerns raised about the subject matter of the test as they felt it will not help in identifying a genuine passport holder. Also read | South Korea, US fire eight ballistic missiles after North Korea's weapons test Zulu and Xhosa are currently the two most popular languages in South Africa. Ryanair, on the other hand, made it clear that the only purpose of the test is to curb the high number of people who travel on a fake South African passport. A spokesperson for the company 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.” Also read | After rebellion of 54 Tory MPs, British PM Johnson to face confidence vote The decision to conduct the test was taken after South African government said that the manufacturing and selling fake South African passports has gone up in the recent times. But the British government has said that the test is not compulsory. WATCH WION LIVE HERE - (With inputs from agencies)

Ryanair accused of discrimination for putting South Africans through Afrikaans test

afrikaans

Afrikaans, News on Afrikaans, stories on Afrikaans, articles on Afrikaans, Afrikaans stories at Wion, Afrikaans news, Afrikaans latest news