Ryanair Afrikaans test: Airline stands by South African language quiz

Ryanair says it is still insisting that all South Africans travelling on flights to the UK must prove their nationality by taking a test in the Afrikaans language. The policy has caused outrage in South Africa, where many black people associate Afrikaans with the days of white-minority rule. South Africa has 11 official languages and Ryanair has not explained why it chose Afrikaans. The airline runs flights around Europe. In a statement to the BBC, Ryanair said it had to carry out the extra test because of "substantially increased cases of fraudulent South African passports being used to enter the UK". Any airline found to have taken a passenger to the UK on a fake passport faces a fine of £2,000 ($2,500) from the UK authorities. "This is why Ryanair must ensure that all passengers (especially South African citizens) travel on a valid SA passport/visa as required by UK Immigration," the airline said. The British government says it does not require the extra test to be carried out. As well as not explaining why it chose Afrikaans rather than any other South African language, Ryanair did not say whether it carried out similar tests for any other nationality.<br/>