Ryanair is the latest victim of controversy. Social networks have been revealing that Ryanair has been accused of discriminatory practices towards South Africans by the Irish airline. The general knowledge tests in Afrikaans required for passengers of this nationality to travel to Ireland or the United Kingdom are under investigation.
Ryanair provided the following information to AFP Monday: “Due the high prevalence of fraudulent South African passports, we are asking passengers travelling to the UK for a simple form to be completed in Afrikaans. They will not be allowed to travel if they do not complete the form. If they fail to fill it out, they will be refused entry and reimbursed.
On Friday, the British Embassy in South Africa stated via Twitter that this was not required by the United Kingdom.
Twitter was abuzz with comments, one netizen even posting the question in question. It asked questions such as “Who is the President of South Africa?” and “What is the largest city in South Africa”.
Many people were also angry, noting that Afrikaans was only the third most commonly spoken language in a country that has eleven languages (Zulu being the most), and that it was the language of white settlers living in a predominantly black country.
