South Africa 'taken aback' by Ryanair's Afrikaans test to prove nationality

FILE PHOTO: A Ryanair aircraft lands on the southern runway at Gatwick Airport in Crawley, Britain, August 25, 2021. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The South African government said on Tuesday it was taken aback by Ryanair's decision to force UK-bound travelers holding the country's passport to take a test in Afrikaans language to prove nationality, calling the move a "backward profiling system".

The Irish low-cost airline had from last week started forcing UK-bound travelers with a South African passport to take a test in Afrikaans, a language spoken by just 12% of the country's population and often associated with the apartheid and white minority rule.