Ebola Outbreak Fallout: US-Bound Flight Diverted to Canada
Air France’s flight bound for Detroit, United States, was diverted to Canada after a passenger from the Congo was found aboard amid an Ebola outbreak sweeping Central Africa.
The incident occurred as Washington authorities imposed new restrictions preventing anyone without a US passport who had travelled to the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the previous three weeks from entering the United States.
A spokesperson for the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), as reported by NBC News on Friday, 22 May 2026, said authorities took “firm action” by barring the flight from landing at Detroit’s Wayne County Metropolitan Airport.
“Because of the entry restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus, the passenger should not have boarded the flight,” the CBP spokesperson said.
The CBP official added that Air France had “inadvertently boarded” the Congo passenger onto the flight destined for the United States. No further details were provided about when the passenger last visited the Congo.
The flight ultimately landed in Montreal, Canada. Montreal-Trudeau International Airport authorities confirmed that Air France Flight 378 was diverted “at the request of US authorities” after taking off from Paris on Wednesday, 20 May local time.
The flight landed in Montreal shortly after 5:00 p.m. ET.
“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,” an Air France spokesman said in a statement.
The incident came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Monday, 18 May, that Washington would restrict entry to people without US passports who had recently been in the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the previous three weeks. The restriction will apply for 30 days from the date of the announcement.
Congolese passenger showed no Ebola symptoms.
Canada’s Public Health Agency, in a statement carried by CBS News, said the Congo passenger had been screened by quarantine officers and showed no Ebola-related symptoms. The unnamed passenger was subsequently flown to Paris.
In light of the incident, CDC and CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease expert, explained that Ebola can only spread if a person shows symptoms. “Are people in danger from this? No. You won’t catch Ebola simply by sitting next to someone on a plane who is asymptomatic,” Dr. Gounder said, noting her experience working in West Africa during prior Ebola outbreaks.