Passenger from Congo boards flight in error', prompting diversion to Canada amid Ebola outbreak

An Air France flight bound for Detroit was redirected to Montreal after officials determined a passenger from the Democratic Republic of the Congo had boarded despite new Ebola-related travel restrictions. US Customs and Border Protection prohibited the flight from landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and coordinated with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce the risk of Ebola entering the United States. Temporary measures implemented by the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security included enhanced travel screening, entry restrictions, and additional public health protocols. Non-US passport holders who had been in Uganda, the DRC, or South Sudan within the previous 21 days faced entry restrictions. Further restrictions required flights carrying foreign travelers from Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the last 21 days to land at Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia for enhanced public health measures.

"An Air France flight headed to Detroit, Michigan, was redirected to Canada on Wednesday after it was determined that a passenger from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had boarded in error amid new Ebola-related travel restrictions, officials with the US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) said. Due to entry restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus, the passenger should not have boarded the plane, a CBP spokesperson said in a statement."

"CBP took decisive action and prohibited the flight carrying that traveler from landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne county airport, and instead, diverted to Montreal, Canada. The spokesperson added that CBP, in coordination with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is taking the necessary measures to protect public health and reduce the risk of Ebola disease introduction into the United States."

"On Monday, the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented temporary measures aimed at preventing the Ebola disease from entering the US amid ongoing outbreaks in east and central Africa. The measures include enhanced travel screening, entry restrictions and additional public health protocols. Among the new rules are entry restrictions for non-US passport holders who have been in Uganda, DRC or South Sudan in the previous 21 days."

"The order is in effect for 30 days, according to the announcement. The DHS will implement further entry restrictions beginning on Thursday for foreign travellers arriving to the US from countries at the center of the outbreak. In a DHS notice submitted to the Federal Register, expected to be published on Thursday, the department states all US-bound flights carrying foreign travelers who have been in Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the last 21 days must land at Washington-Dulles international airport in Virginia, where the US government is focusing public health resources to implement enhanced public health measures."

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