Air France flight diverted to Canada after Ebola-related boarding error

An Air France flight bound for Detroit, Michigan, was diverted to Canada on Wednesday after a passenger from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) boarded “in error” amid new Ebola-related travel restrictions, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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-U.S. 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 travelers arriving to the U.S. 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 U.S.-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 U.S. government is focusing public health resources to implement enhanced public health measures.”

On Wednesday, the director-general of the World Health Organization said that so far, there have been almost 600 suspected cases of Ebola and 139 suspected deaths, warning that the numbers are expected to rise. The director-general said that 51 cases had been confirmed in the DRC, “although we know the scale of the epidemic in DRC is much larger.” Uganda has also confirmed two cases, he said.

During his remarks, the director-general also said that an American citizen who was working in DRC had also been confirmed positive and they had been transferred to Germany.