An Air France flight from Paris to Detroit was forced to divert to Montreal on Wednesday due to U.S. flight restrictions linked to the Ebola outbreak after it was determined that one of the passengers was from the Democratic Republic of Congo, federal officials and the airline said. Air France boarded the passenger “in error on a flight to the United States,” a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told CBS News in a statement. “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. “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.” CBP did not say when the person had last been in the Congo or whether they were showing symptoms of the virus.
When reached about the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration directed CBS News to CBP. CBS News has also reached out to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for comment. Air France said in a statement to CBS News that it “confirms that, at the request of U.S. authorities, (the flight) 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.”
According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, Air France Flight 378 from Paris-Charles de Gaulle International Airport landed at Montreal Trudeau International Airport at 5:15 p.m. ET. The status of the passenger from the Congo was unknown. Deborah Mistor, a business class passenger aboard the flight, told CBS News in an interview Thursday night that the rest of the passengers were then flown from Montreal to Detroit aboard the same aircraft. Mistor revealed that the passengers were notified by the captain about four hours before they were initially due to arrive in Detroit that U.S. authorities were not allowing the plane to land in the U.S. and the flight was being diverted. The captain did not provide a reason, however. “I think enough people must have been questioning what was going on because 30 minutes later, he came back on and said that he wanted to confirm that there was nothing wrong with the plane, there were no technical difficulties, that it was strictly because of U.S. authorities not allowing us to land in the U.S.,” Mistor told CBS News.
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
Hebrews 12:14
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