A trans-Atlantic flight bound for Detroit instead touched down in Montreal on Wednesday after US officials refused it entry over a passenger from Congo, where an Ebola outbreak is underway. US Customs and Border Protection said it blocked Air France Flight 378, which originated in Paris, from landing at Detroit's main airport because the Congolese passenger, who didn't have a US passport that would've granted him entry, shouldn't have been allowed to board under new entry rules, per NBC News. Air France said the flight was diverted "at the request of US authorities," landing safely in Canada and noting there was no medical emergency on board.
A passenger who was on the flight tells CBS News that about four hours before they were supposed to touch down in Detroit, they were informed by the captain they were being diverted, with no reason given. "He wanted to confirm that there was nothing wrong with the plane, there were no technical difficulties, that it was strictly because of US authorities not allowing us to land," Deborah Mistor says. However, then all the flight attendants suddenly donned face masks, making some passengers uneasy. "It was really concerning, like: What is going on here? Why are we not being allowed to land?" Mistor adds, per WXYZ.
The move came two days after the CDC announced a 30-day restriction on non-US citizens who've been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the previous 21 days. Under a related Department of Homeland Security directive, flights carrying such travelers must now arrive at Washington's Dulles, where public health screening is being concentrated. The World Health Organization reports more than 600 suspected Ebola cases and at least 139 suspected deaths, mostly in Congo, noting that a vaccine targeting the strain driving this outbreak is still months away from human trials.
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