{"id":54470,"date":"2026-05-21T11:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/54470\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T11:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:38:09","slug":"flight-to-detroit-diverted-to-canada-due-to-ebola-concerns-what-we-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/54470\/","title":{"rendered":"Flight to Detroit diverted to Canada due to Ebola concerns &#8212; What we know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Questions are growing over the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo as cases and deaths rise. It comes ahead of a weekend when millions of Americans will board planes and travel for Memorial Day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">At least one American tested positive in the Democratic Republic of Congo and was taken to Germany for treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">On Wednesday, May 20, a plane heading to Metro Detroit from France was diverted to Montreal after officials discovered that a passenger from the Democratic Republic of the Congo was on board.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Here\u2019s what we know:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">A tipster on Local 4\u2019s Help Desk alerted us to an Air France flight bound for Detroit that was diverted to Canada after U.S. authorities barred it from entering American airspace. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Air France Flight AF378 departed Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport around 4 p.m. local time en route to Detroit Metropolitan Airport before being redirected to Montreal-Trudeau International Airport, where it was expected to land Wednesday night, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/16765\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">according to EuropeSays.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the diversion in a statement, saying the airline mistakenly boarded a passenger subject to U.S. entry restrictions related to concerns about Ebola exposure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 ewwUYq\">Air France boarded a passenger from the Democratic Republic of Congo in error on a flight to the United States. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 ewwUYq\">Due to entry restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus, the passenger should not have boarded the plane. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 ewwUYq\">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. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 ewwUYq\">CBP, in coordination with CDC, is taking the necessary measures to protect public health and reduce the risk of Ebola disease introduction into the United States.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>CBP spokesperson<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">A passenger on board the Boeing 777-200 said pilots informed travelers that U.S. authorities would not allow the aircraft to land in Detroit. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The passenger also said flight attendants were wearing masks and referenced concerns about a virus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The flight carried up to 312 passengers, including travelers booked through a Delta Air Lines codeshare agreement with Air France.<\/p>\n<p>CDC order, Ebola outbreak prompt travel restrictions<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The diversion comes days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an emergency order restricting entry for most non-U.S. citizens who had recently been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, or Uganda amid concerns over an Ebola outbreak.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Under the order, enacted Monday, U.S. citizens, nationals, and lawful permanent residents are still permitted to enter the country after travel to those nations. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Most foreign nationals, however, are barred if they have been in those countries within the previous 21 days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Health officials raised concerns following confirmation that a U.S. doctor treating Ebola patients in Congo tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus earlier this month. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The doctor was evacuated to Germany for treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">According to the World Health Organization, there are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Previous outbreaks involving the strain have had fatality rates ranging from 30% to 50%.<\/p>\n<p>Air France routes, codeshare connections<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Air France does not operate direct flights to the countries named in the CDC order, but it does serve Kinshasa, in the neighboring Republic of Congo, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Representatives for Air France, Delta Air Lines, the CDC, and Montreal-Trudeau International Airport were contacted for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Questions are growing over the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo as cases and deaths rise.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[16683,17,24151,23930,2128,2737,24153,24152],"class_list":["post-54470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-air-france","tag-canada","tag-detroit-metro-airport","tag-dtw","tag-health","tag-michigan","tag-romulus","tag-wayne-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}