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Ryanair dropped a controversial requirement for South African travellers to the UK and Ireland to take a test in Afrikaans to prove their nationality.
Europe’s largest low-cost airline had imposed the measure to prevent the use of fraudulent passports, but drew criticism as the language is only spoken by a minority of the South African population. The government said it was “taken aback” by the policy, calling it a “backward profiling system.”
Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary agreed to scrap the test, though told reporters in Brussels there is a major problem with false South African passports on a route between Turkey and Ireland, according to Reuters. A spokesman confirmed the comments were accurate.
