May 21 (UPI) — 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.
A Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson told UPI that the flight was diverted due to temporary restrictions barring entry to non-citizens who have been within the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the past 21 days.
“Air France boarded a passenger from the Democratic Republic of Congo in error on a flight to the United States. Due to entry restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus, the passenger should not have boarded the plane,” the spokesperson said.
“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.”
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.
Air France confirmed the diversion of its flight in an emailed statement to UPI, stating the decision to land in Montreal was made after a Congolese passenger on board was denied entry into the United States.
The spokesperson said there was no medical emergency on board, the Congolese passenger disembarked with his luggage and “the plane was able to depart for Detroit.”
“Like all airlines, Air France is required to comply with the entry requirements of the countries it serves,” the spokesperson said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada told UPI that a quarantine officer was there to meet the Air France plane and assess the passenger in question, who was determined to be asymptomatic.
“The traveller has departed back to Paris,” the spokesperson said.
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.
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.
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