New CDC Rule Requires a Health Attestation Before U.S.-Bound Flights

Starting at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on November 3, travelers aboard foreign-departing aircraft bound for the United States must provide an attestation concerning their presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the preceding 21 days. The CDC requirement was issued amid an Ebola outbreak and applies based on travel history, not citizenship.

The CDC’s October 28 amendment specifies that the requirement covers commercial and private aircraft and relevant crew members, including personnel positioning for later flights. The travel-history question includes transit through a DRC airport, even when a traveler did not leave the airport.

What passengers will encounter

The policy concerns presence in the DRC, not nationality. A person who holds a passport from another country but traveled through the DRC in the relevant period cannot answer based only on citizenship. Conversely, a person who has not been there would be making the statement that the form requests.

How airlines must implement the rule

Airlines and aircraft operators must collect a paper or digital attestation at or before boarding and retain it for at least 42 days after arrival. A parent or authorized representative may sign in defined circumstances. A traveler who does not provide the required declaration cannot board without an applicable U.S. government exemption.

The original CDC order was issued October 22. The October 28 amendment clarified coverage of aircraft personnel, including some crew repositioning for later flights. That clarification matters because airlines coordinate flights through complex staffing arrangements, and the public-health screening requirement must address people aboard beyond ticketed passengers.

The order is tied to public-health restrictions surrounding an Ebola outbreak affecting the DRC. It does not establish that ordinary international air travel is unsafe or that every traveler is subject to the same exposure risk. The travel-history question is intended to identify recent presence in one affected location within a defined incubation-related window.

For people connecting to the United States from a third country, the order still concerns whether they had been in the DRC within the previous 21 days. It is not limited to flights that originate in the DRC. The CDC has published the attestation itself and says airlines must use operational instructions covering the boarding process.

The CDC says its technical instructions and frequently asked questions are being updated. Anyone scheduled to fly internationally around November 3 should confirm the airline’s boarding procedures and use the official CDC form or guidance rather than a third-party interpretation. The rule’s new operational feature is the required signed statement for U.S.-bound boarding.

References: Order: Requirement for Attestation by All Persons Traveling by Air to the United States