AVIATION

6 June 2022: London, UK

Reports have surfaced that Ryanair is refused to let South African passengers board flights if they fail a language test. Some have said that South African travelers were required to answer questionnaires issued in Afrikaans. The airline told one media outlet that customers would be refused travel if they are unable to complete the test resulting in the airline being accused of discrimination from passengers as a result. The airline said in a statement that South African customers would be refused travel home from the UK and Europe if they could not complete the test, which included questions such as identifying the side of the road that people in South Africa drive on, per the report in the Financial Times. In addition, the airline said: “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.”