U.S.-Bound Flights Add Congo Travel Attestation Requirement

A U.S. order took effect late November 3 requiring a travel-history attestation for international arrivals by air. Recent Congo travel is the focus.

A federal requirement for people boarding flights to the United States from abroad took effect at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 3, 2026. The amended order requires a signed statement confirming that the traveler has not been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the preceding 21 days, subject to specified exemptions.

The rule is relevant to Americans returning home as well as other people flying to the United States. Its scope is international air transportation, so readers should not interpret it as a new form required for a flight entirely within the country.

The requirement concerns recent travel history associated with the Ebola outbreak in the DRC. It is different from a general health declaration that asks only whether someone feels ill on the day of departure.

What changed at departure

The order, published in the Federal Register on October 30, applies to flights departing at or after the effective time. It permits the attestation in paper or digital form and includes crew members as well as passengers.

It also covers flights arriving in the United States when the country is a connection rather than the final destination. Aircraft operators are responsible for collecting the statement and keeping a copy for at least 42 days after departure.

The amended order is effective for 45 days, unless it is changed or rescinded earlier. Travelers therefore need the current airline and government instructions for their departure, rather than assuming the requirement will remain unchanged for a later trip.

Recent presence in the DRC matters

The State Department's existing DRC advisory explains that U.S. citizens and nationals who have been in the country within a 21-day period face restrictions on boarding commercial flights to the United States. Its warning is not limited to people who are citizens of the DRC.

The department lists the DRC at Level 4, Do Not Travel, citing health and security concerns. It also warns that the U.S. government's ability to provide in-person emergency consular services is limited, particularly outside Kinshasa.

That broader advisory remains relevant even when someone is focused on a return flight. Airline paperwork, eligibility to board and access to assistance abroad are related travel questions, but they do not all have the same answer.

The health context behind the paperwork

CDC describes Ebola as a serious disease caused by orthoebolaviruses. Its public information says transmission is different from that of respiratory viruses such as influenza: simply passing someone in a public place is not how Ebola spreads.

The agency explains that infection can occur through contact with body fluids from a person who is sick or has died, or with contaminated materials. People become contagious after symptoms begin, and symptoms can develop between two and 21 days after exposure.

Those facts provide context for the travel-history requirement. They do not turn an attestation into a medical test, establish an individual diagnosis or justify assuming that any particular passenger is infected.

People arranging an international journey should use the airline's current check-in instructions and the linked federal order together with destination-specific government guidance. This report describes the requirement that took effect November 3; it does not determine whether a particular person qualifies for an exemption. This article is for general information and is not medical advice.

Sources

Featured image: A Helvetic Airways aircraft at Zurich Airport in July 2023; archival illustration, not a photograph of the new U.S. checks. Photo: kuhnmi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Original photograph, unaltered.