The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has clarified that a new Ebola-related attestation requirement covers everyone travelling on aircraft to or through the United States, including airline and cargo crews, deadheading personnel, passengers and general-aviation users. The measure applies to foreign-origin flights departing at or after 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on 3 November 2026 and requires confirmation that travellers have not been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during the previous 21 days.
The amended order, issued on 28 October, extends the requirement beyond scheduled-airline passengers to commercial, charter, business-aviation, private and cargo operations when crew are involved. Transit through a DRC airport counts, regardless of whether the traveller leaves the aircraft or airport.
Operators must verify completion before or at boarding, accept the form in paper or authenticated digital format, and retain each attestation for at least 42 days after arrival in the United States. Anyone who refuses or fails to provide the document must be denied boarding unless covered by a US government-issued exemption. The CDC has supplied operators with a standard, fillable attestation form.
The order was initially issued on 22 October and is scheduled to remain in effect through 18 December 2026 unless rescinded, modified or extended. Its operational scope requires foreign-based operators and non-scheduled aviation providers to introduce pre-departure document checks and record-retention procedures for US-bound flights.