An Air France flight bound for Detroit, Michigan, was forced to land in Montreal, Canada, on Wednesday after a passenger from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was found to have boarded the plane in error amid new Ebola-related travel restrictions.
The US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) said the passenger should not have been on the flight due to entry restrictions aimed at reducing the risk of Ebola. The agency, working with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), took decisive action to prevent the aircraft from landing in Detroit instead diverting it to Montreal.
The incident comes after the CDC and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented temporary measures on Monday to prevent the introduction of Ebola into the United States. The measures include enhanced screening and entry restrictions for non-US passport holders who have been in Uganda, DRC or South Sudan within the previous 21 days. The order is effective for 30 days.
From Thursday, all US-bound flights carrying foreign travellers who have been in the affected countries must land at Washington-Dulles International Airport, where enhanced public health resources are concentrated. The World Health Organization’s director-general reported on Wednesday nearly 600 suspected Ebola cases and 139 suspected deaths, with 51 confirmed cases in the DRC and two in Uganda. An American citizen working in the DRC has also tested positive and was transferred to Germany.
