Ryanair Is Facing Charges For Racial Discrimination. They Are Forcing South Africans To Prove Their State Citizenship.

The airline Ryanair is facing charges for racial discrimination. The reason behind it is that they forced South Africans to complete a test of general knowledge in Afrikaans prior to their return home. It is a reaction to an increased presence of fake African passports, says  The Guardian.

The citizens of South Africa are criticising Ryanair for the fact that the test of general knowledge is in the third most used language in the country and that the language played a controversial role in oppression of people of colour during the time of apartheid. It was mandatory for South Africans of colour to use this language at the time. Passengers claim that this is "indirect racial discrimination."

@Ryanair is restricting the movement of South African people based on whether or not they speak the language of the white Afrikaans minority. Not a good look. Pretty racist. https://t.co/xcIOIzYxAb pic.twitter.com/ig88PrSiwM

— Fred Raybould (@FredRaybould) June 5, 2022

Some have also contemplated the content of the test. They claim that topics such as the side of the road South Africans drive on do not determine whether someone is a passport holder.

The spokesman of the airline stated for the Financial Times journal that "considering the high amount of fake South African passports, they demand that passengers fill in a simple questionnaire in Afrikaans. Should they not be able to do so, they will cancel their trip and return their money in full."

The Guardian stated that it is not clear why the test is in Afrikaans and not in the first or second most used language in the country - zulu and xhosa.