An Air France flight was diverted to Canada after a passenger from an Ebola-restricted area boarded the flight, officials said.
Air France Flight 378 from Paris to Detroit was diverted to Montreal after the US requested it not land in Michigan, as a passenger from Congo was on the Wednesday flight.
An Ebola outbreak has impacted the African nation, causing the CDC to announce on Monday that anyone without a US passport who has been in the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan in the past three weeks will not be allowed to enter the US.
However, Homeland Security is now requiring all US-bound flights with foreign passengers from the three countries and US citizens who have been there to fly into Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
It is unclear why the Air France flight was not diverted to Washington. Air France said the flight was diverted to Montreal 'at the request of US authorities' and lamented that there was 'no medical emergency on board,' CBS News reported.
US Border Patrol said the Congo passenger was boarded on the flight 'in error' and 'should not have boarded the plane' due to entry restriction.
The status of the Congo passenger is currently unknown. The passenger was disembarked from the back of the plane upon landing in Montreal.
The rest of the passengers were then flown to Detroit, according to Deborah Mistor, who was sitting in business class on the flight.
An Air France flight from Paris to Detroit was diverted to Montreal after a passenger from Congo was on board. The US has restrictions on people who have been to Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the last three weeks due to the Ebola outbreak
Air France confirmed there was no medical emergency on board and that it was diverted due to US authorities not allowing it to land in the US. The flight did fly to Detroit from Montreal after the passenger from Congo was let off
Air France pilots announced the diversion roughly four hours before they were due to land in Detroit, telling them the US was not allowing them to touch down, but did not specify the exact reason, Mistor told CBS News.
'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 US authorities not allowing us to land in the US,' she told the outlet.
'They're telling you it's okay, it's not a mechanical issue, but everybody has a mask on... it lets your mind wander as to what the situation you're being placed in might be.'
Air France confirmed there was no medical emergency on board, telling WXYZ: 'Like all airlines, Air France is required to comply with the entry requirements of the countries it serves.'
The Congo outbreak has already taken 139 lives, and there are 600 suspected cases. There are currently more than 50 confirmed cases, including two in Uganda.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was 'deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic,' which involves a rare strain of Ebola that has a mortality rate of up to 50 percent.
Experts and aid workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo said the virus had been spreading undetected for weeks after the first known deaths because officials were testing for the more common strain of Ebola and the results were repeatedly negative.
The latest outbreak involves the Ebola strain Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), which has no approved vaccine or treatment.
So far, 139 people have died during the latest outbreak with more than 600 suspected cases
The CDC has advised Americans not to travel to the three countries, while Homeland Security is only allowing those from affected areas to fly into a DC airport
The CDC elevated a travel advisory to Congo to a Level 3, warning Americans to 'reconsider nonessential travel.'
The agency also announced it was increasing screening and monitoring for people arriving from areas affected by Ebola outbreaks.
Ghebreyesus added that the risk of spread of the outbreak in those countries is high at the national and regional level, but spread risk is low at the global level.
CDC officials said the risk to the general US public remains low but urged travelers to the area to avoid contact with any sick individuals.
The CDC also said travelers should watch for symptoms of Ebola for 21 days after leaving Congo.
The US' response to the rising cases is similar to precautions it took during the 2013 to 2016 outbreak in West Africa, where it funneled passengers from affected regions into three airports.