An Air France flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Detroit has reportedly been barred from entering U.S. airspace after officials became aware that a passenger may have been in an Ebola-affected country in recent weeks.
Air France flight AF-378, which departed Paris at 4 pm on Wednesday, has been forced to divert to Montreal, where it is expected to land at 5:30 pm (local time).
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According to a passenger who is on the flight, the pilots made an announcement to the up to 312 passengers on the Boeing 777-200 that “US authorities are not allowing us to land in Detroit.”
The passenger added that a flight attendant “mentioned something about a virus and they have masks on.” The passenger was flying on a Delta Air Lines codeshare with Air France.
Representatives from Air France, Delta Air Lines, Montreal Trudeau International Airport, Customs and Border Protection, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been contacted for comment.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Air France told us: “Air France confirms that, at the request of U.S. authorities, Flight AF378 on May 20, 2026, operating the Paris-Charles de Gaulle–Detroit (DTW) route, was diverted to Montreal Airport after a Congolese passenger on board was denied entry into the United States.”
“In fact, under new regulations, passengers arriving from certain countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, may only enter U.S. territory via Washington (IAD) Airport. 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.”
It’s likely that the diversion is connected to an emergency order issued by the CDC on Monday, which prevents most travelers who have been in three Central African countries, currently in the grip of a worrying Ebola outbreak, from entering the United States.
In its emergency order, enacted under sections 362 & 365 of the Public Health Service Act, the CDC has banned non-US citizens who have been in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, or Uganda in the last 21 days.
U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, and lawful permanent residents are still permitted to enter the United States even if they have been in one of three countries in the last 21 days.
Customs and Border Protection later told us in an emailed statement: “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. 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 statement added: “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.”
On May 17, a U.S. doctor who had been treating Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) tested positive for the deadly Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
The doctor was evacuated to Germany, rather than the United States, for emergency medical treatment as part of a cooperation agreement between the State Department and German authorities.
According to the World Health Organization, there are currently no vaccines or specific therapeutics available to treat the Bundibugyo strain. In previous Bundibugyo outbreaks, fatality rates have ranged from 30% to 50%.
The outbreak has currently been identified in DRC and Uganda, and Air France currently flies to the capital of DRC, Kinshasa, several times per week. Passengers from Kinshasa would then be able to connect to onward flights in Paris to the United States.
This is a developing story.
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Mateusz Maszczynski
Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant at the most prominent airline in the Middle East and has been flying ever since… most recently for a well known European airline. Matt is passionate about the aviation industry and has become an expert in passenger experience and human-centric stories. Always keeping an ear close to the ground, Matt’s industry insights, analysis and news coverage is frequently relied upon by some of the biggest names in journalism.
