Ryanair orders South Africans to take Afrikaans quiz to enter UK
Low-cost airline says move is to combat ‘passport fraud’
Image: Bloomberg
Ryanair Holdings Plc is ordering South Africans travelling to the UK to complete a list of questions in Afrikaans to prove their identity.
Afrikaans is one of the 11 official languages spoken in the country.
Europe’s largest low-cost airline imposed the measure to prevent the use of fraudulent passports, the company said on Monday.
“If they are unable to complete this questionnaire, they will be refused travel and issued with a full refund,” Ryanair said.
The quiz contains 15 general knowledge questions about SA, including a multiple choice to identify the nation’s capital, according to a copy published by Beeld newspaper. Others asked which side of the road people drive on and the name of the country’s highest mountain.
Afrikaans is the third-most spoken first language in SA, behind Zulu and Xhosa.
News of the measure prompted backlash on SA social media platforms at the weekend.
Alex Macheras, an independent aviation analyst, called it “categorically insane and discriminatory”.
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