Passengers boarding international flights for the United States will soon have to sign a declaration that they have not been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during the previous 21 days. The requirement takes effect on 3 November 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the order on 22 October 2026. It requires passengers flying into or connecting through the United States to complete an attestation before boarding.
The rule covers passengers on commercial flights, general aviation and private aircraft. It applies to people intending to travel to the United States unless the US Government has issued an exemption.
Airlines will administer the process through digital or paper forms and must keep the completed attestations for at least 42 days after a flight arrives in the United States.
Passengers who deliberately give false or misleading information could face criminal fines and imprisonment.
Separate arrival restrictions remain in place for travellers who have been in Uganda or South Sudan during the previous 21 days. They must arrive through Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia; Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta; or John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
The order follows earlier US restrictions linked to an Ebola outbreak in the DRC. The CDC adopted rules in May barring airline passengers who had been in the DRC during the previous three weeks, then extended the restriction to US citizens in July.
That policy had already disrupted a flight. In May, an Air France service bound for Detroit diverted to Canada after it was denied permission to enter US airspace because a passenger may have been in the DRC in the 21 days before departure.
A CDC official had warned US airports in May that their Ebola screening methods were “weak.”
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which spread without detection for months before it was declared in May 2026. The strain kills about half of those infected, and there is no approved treatment or vaccine.
Most cases have been in the DRC. Small clusters have been recorded in Uganda and Kenya, while Nigeria and France have confirmed cases.
Uganda’s last confirmed patient recovered and left care on 16 July 2026, and there are currently no reported active cases there. France’s last case recovered and left care on 4 July 2026, and it also has no reported active cases.
No Ebola cases linked to this outbreak have been reported in the United States. About 500 CDC staff are involved in the response, including more than 120 personnel deployed to affected countries.
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