Detroit-bound Air France flight diverted to Canada over Ebola concerns

An Air France flight headed to Detroit was diverted to Canada after a passenger from Congo reportedly boarded the aircraft by mistake during an ongoing Ebola outbreak in central Africa, officials confirmed on Wednesday, News.Az reports, citing NBC.

A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said authorities took “decisive action” by preventing the aircraft from landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.

The flight, which departed from Paris, was rerouted to Montreal, where it landed shortly after 5 p.m. ET, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.

“Due to entry restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus, the passenger should not have boarded the plane,” the CBP spokesperson said in a statement.

Montreal Trudeau International Airport referred all questions regarding the incident to Air France. The airline did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The incident comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Monday that entry restrictions would be imposed on non-U.S. citizens who have been in Congo, South Sudan or Uganda within the previous 21 days. The measures are expected to remain in place for at least 30 days.

In a notice filed with the Federal Register and scheduled for publication on Thursday, CBP and the Department of Homeland Security outlined additional travel restrictions requiring all flights entering the United States with passengers who recently visited Congo, Uganda or South Sudan to land at Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia.

The new rules take effect Thursday and apply to any individual who “has departed from, or was otherwise present within,” the three African countries within 21 days before attempting to enter the United States, according to the document.

Officials described Dulles International Airport as the location where the U.S. government is concentrating public health resources in order to carry out enhanced screening and health safety measures.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately comment on the updated restrictions.

According to the World Health Organization, the suspected Ebola outbreak has resulted in more than 139 deaths and over 600 suspected cases, the majority of them reported in Congo.

The WHO also said on Wednesday that a vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola — the variant responsible for the current outbreak — is still likely months away from entering human trials, with no certainty that it will prove effective.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev