Ryanair has dropped a requirement that South African passport holders pass a test written in Afrikaans — a language with a racist legacy that many South Africans don’t speak — to prove their nationality before boarding certain flights after the policy was widely criticized as discriminatory and nonsensical. In an email, the company on Wednesday confirmed that the quiz would no longer be used, pointing to statements made by its chief executive, Michael O’Leary, that it “doesn’t make any sense.” South Africans were angered by the test, which relied on a language imposed by the former white-led apartheid government on the country’s Black majority. Today, Afrikaans is the third most widely used household language in the country at 13 percent. “They have genuinely offended an entire nation,” said Dinesh Joseph, a 45-year-old South African leadership and management trainer who had to pass the test to return to London from the Canary Islands. Ryanair’s about face comes as South Africans prepare on Thursday to commemorate a seminal moment in their resistance to Afrikaans: the anniversary of the 1976 Soweto uprising, in which thousands of protesters, mostly Black schoolchildren, marched against the government’s efforts to require instruction in Afrikaans in school. The police fired on the protesters, killing hundreds. The language’s racist legacy continues to resonate with many people in South Africa, where Zulu is spoken in more households, 23%, than any of the country’s more than 10 official languages. (English is the household language of 8% of South Africans.) Some South African travelers reported feeling shocked and humiliated by the test requirement. Many South Africans expressed their frustration on social media, calling Ryanair’s requirement racist and even calling for a boycott of the airline. <br/>
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Unions representing staff and cabin crew for Ryanair in Italy have called a 24-hour strike for June 25, coinciding with walkouts the budget airline is facing the same day in other parts of Europe. Unions FILT-CGIL and UIL Trasporti said they were seeking improved pay and conditions after staging a four-hour stoppage earlier in June. Ryanair workers in Spain and Portugal have announced strikes for late June and the Italian unions said they also expected stoppages in France and Belgium. Labour unrest and staff shortages in Europe are causing headaches for travellers heading into the peak summer season, with airports and airlines clamouring to find more workers, minimize cancelled flights and reduce delays. <br/>
The company behind the Airlander airships said it has received its first commercial order from an airline group. Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) said European-based Air Nostrum Group had reserved 10 Airlander airships for delivery from 2026. HAV, which developed Airlander at Cardington airfield in Bedfordshire, is expected to begin manufacturing in South Yorkshire. The firm said 1,800 jobs would be created as a result of the interest. HAV said Airlander 10 will cut flight emissions by up to 90% for journeys across Air Nostrum's regional routes in Spain. The airships, which stay aloft using helium and electricity, have been commissioned to seat 100 people.According to HAV's website, hybrid aircraft fly due to a combination of aerodynamic lift (like an aeroplane), lifting gases (like an airship) and vectored thrust (similar to a helicopter). Airlander generates up to 40% of its lift from aerodynamics by the passage of air over the hull and the remainder from buoyant lift from the helium.<br/>
Low-cost carrier Zipair Tokyo said Wednesday it will ditch its logo featuring the letter “Z,” a pro-war symbol often seen on Russian military vehicles, to avoid misunderstanding. The president of the wholly owned subsidiary of Japan Airlines told reporters at Narita Airport near Tokyo that some people might see the current logo as indicating that the company approves of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I think some people might feel that way when they see it without any explanation,” Shingo Nishida said. The new logo will be a geometric pattern in green, black and white, the company said. The budget airline currently operates flights connecting Narita with Bangkok, Seoul, Honolulu, Singapore and Los Angeles. Zipair, which began operations in 2020 as a low-cost carrier specializing in international flights, plans to launch its sixth route, to San Jose, California, in December.<br/>
The southern resort island of Jeju welcomed the first direct flight from Singapore, Wednesday, as part of efforts to revive its pandemic-hit tourism industry. Singaporean budget carrier Scoot's Airbus A321neo aircraft arrived at Jeju International Airport early in the morning as the airline inaugurated its non-stop service between Singapore and the island. The regular service will run three times a week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. It is Korea's second direct flight service with the Southeast Asian country, after one linking the city-state and Incheon, west of Seoul, which is also operated by the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. Scoot's flight TR812, nearly packed to capacity with 201 passengers, touched down on Jeju at 8:45 a.m. after a roughly six-hour journey from Singapore's Changi Airport. They were greeted by jubilant officials from the local government, the airport and tourism organizations. <br/>
China Southern Airlines this week conducted test flights with a Boeing 737 MAX plane for the first time since March, flight tracking websites showed, in a sign the jet's return in China could be nearing as demand rebounds. A MAX jet registered as B-1127 took off from the airline's headquarters city of Guangzhou on Tuesday morning and touched down about two hours later in the city of Nanyang in central China, according to aviation data provider Variflight. It returned to Guangzhou in the evening. The aircraft conducted similar flights on Saturday. China Southern, which has a pilot training base in Nanyang, did not respond to a request for comment. The airline, the largest Chinese operator of MAX aircraft, last flew the plane on March 14, showed data from Variflight, a week before the deadly crash of an earlier-generation 737 of China Eastern Airlines. That crash was viewed by analysts as a setback in Boeing's efforts to regain confidence in China after the MAX was grounded following crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019.<br/>