An Air France flight en route to Detroit on Wednesday we re routed to Montreal due to a Congolese passenger being denied entry to the United States. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
An Air France flight bound for the United States was diverted to Canada after a passenger on board was determined to be from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where health officials are battling an Ebola outbreak, according to reports.
Flight 378 departed Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport at 3:42 p.m. CEST Wednesday for Detroit, but landed at Montreal Trudeau International Airport at 5:15 p.m. EDT, according to air traffic monitoring website FlightAware.
A Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson told Detroit’s WXYZ that the flight was diverted due to entry flight restrictions barring entry to non-citizens who have been within the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the past 21 days.
“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 said, adding that Air France had boarded the passenger “in error.”
“CBP, in coordination with the [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevent], is taking the necessary measures to protect public health and reduce the risk of Ebola disease introduction into the United States.”
The World Health Organization on Saturday declared the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern.
In response to the outbreak, the CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued an order suspending the right to introduce into the United States certain noncitizens who have with traveled to the three central African nations within the last three weeks.
The order is to be in effect for 30 days from Monday.
Air France confirmed the diversion of its flight in a statement to CBS News, stating the decision to land in Montreal was made after a Congolese passenger on board was denied entry into the United States.
“There was no medical emergency on board, and like all airlines, Air France is required to comply with the entry requirements of the countries it serves,” the spokesperson said.
According to the CDC, there have been a total of 536 suspected cases of Ebola, 105 probable cases and 34 confirmed cases, as well as 134 suspected deaths, amid the outbreak.
All but two confirmed cases, including one death, were in the DRC, with the two cases in Uganda having recent travel to the DRC.
