If you're flying to the United States this November, expect one extra piece of paperwork at the gate. From 3 November 2026, the CDC will require all passengers on international flights to the US — no matter where they board — to complete a signed attestation confirming they have not been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 21 days before departure.
The move is the latest step in the American response to an Ebola outbreak that surfaced in Central Africa in May 2026, involving the Bundibugyo strain. After confirmed cases appeared in eastern Congo and related infections crossed into Uganda, the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 17 May. Even so, the WHO's guidance was blunt: it advised countries against closing borders or restricting travel, judging the global risk to be low because this strain only spreads through direct contact with infected blood or bodily fluids.
The US went its own way. In May 2026 it barred anyone — later including US citizens — who had been in the DRC in the previous three weeks from flying to the country. Those passengers are told to wait at least 21 days outside the United States before travelling, and people who passed through outbreak-affected Congolese provinces can face further local requirements before leaving.
The new November order tightens things considerably. Airlines and aircraft operators will have to verify before boarding that every passenger has completed the attestation, refuse boarding to anyone who hasn't (unless they hold a US government exemption), and keep copies of the forms for at least 42 days after each flight lands.
There are parallel rules for two neighbouring countries. Foreign nationals and even Green Card holders who have been in South Sudan or Uganda within 21 days of departure are currently barred from entering the US. American citizens coming back from those two countries get through, but only via designated screening airports: Washington-Dulles (IAD), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL) or New York JFK.
Here's the curious part: the CDC reports no Ebola cases linked to this outbreak have appeared in the US so far, and it hasn't clearly explained why the attestation regime needs to expand to every arrival in November. For most travellers the practical impact will be minimal — a quick form to sign — but if your recent itinerary touches East or Central Africa, check the fine print before you book. Routing yourself through Kampala or Juba within three weeks of a US flight could leave you grounded, and airlines are the ones enforcing the checks, so expect questions at check-in in affected regions.
Worth noting for anyone with connecting trips: 21 days is a long shadow. If you've got a safari in Uganda or a business stop in Kinshasa on the calendar and a US flight afterwards, you'll want to build in the quarantine window or reconsider the order of your trip entirely. Source: Travel Tomorrow.
