Air France flight diverted to Montreal over passenger Ebola exposure fears

An Air France flight heading to Detroit was diverted to Montreal on Wednesday afternoon after concerns arose that a passenger might have been exposed to the Ebola virus.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stated that the passenger was permitted to board Air France flight 378 in Paris “in error” because they had recently been in East Africa, an area affected by a rare Ebola strain.

The CBP emphasized that, due to entry restrictions intended to reduce Ebola risk, the passenger should not have been allowed to board. As a result, the flight was diverted to Montreal, a decision confirmed in a statement sent to CityNews.

Officials did not disclose whether the passenger showed any symptoms of the virus. FlightAware reports the plane landed in Montreal at 5:15 p.m., where the passenger was escorted off the aircraft.

The flight then continued to Detroit, arriving just after 8 p.m. On May 18, the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security implemented a 30-day travel ban for travelers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda who lack U.S. passports, as well as screening procedures at airports for travelers departing from or visiting those countries within the past 21 days.

“Under new regulations, passengers arriving from certain countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, may enter U.S. territory only via Washington (IAD) Airport,” the statement said. “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.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared this Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern due to its “scale and speed.”

Currently, 51 cases have been confirmed in Congo’s northern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, with two cases in Uganda. WHO reports nearly 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths.

The London-based MRC Center for Global Infectious Disease Analysis suggests that the actual number of cases may exceed 1,000, indicating significant underreporting.