South Africans express outrage after Ryanair asks passengers to do Afrikaans test

People in South Africa have condemned Ryanair’s decision to ask South African passengers to complete a test in Afrikaans, a language that is used by approximately 12% of the population.

Afrikaans has long been associated with apartheid and stems from Dutch settlement in South Africa.

“Ryanair should be careful. Language is a sensitive issue. They may well end up in front of the Human Rights Commission with this”, Afrikaans Language Council CEO Conrad Steenkamp said.

Ryanair said that the test was required due to the prevalence of “fraudulent South African passports.”

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