US Mandates Ebola Attestation for All US-Bound International Flights

Effective November 4, 2026, the United States government has implemented a new health security requirement for all international passengers arriving in the country. Airlines are now mandated to ensure that every passenger completes an Ebola attestation, confirming they have not been present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) within the preceding period. This measure is a proactive public health step taken by U.S. authorities to mitigate the risk of importing infectious diseases, following recent health monitoring protocols.

This policy shift represents a tightening of border health controls. Airlines are responsible for verifying these attestations during the check-in or boarding process. Failure to comply with these new regulatory requirements could result in denied boarding for passengers or significant fines for the operating carriers. This development follows a broader trend of increased health-related documentation requirements for international travel into the U.S.

All international travellers, regardless of nationality, who are boarding flights destined for the United States are affected by this new mandate. This includes transit passengers and those originating from countries with no direct link to the DRC.

Makutet expects this measure to cause initial processing delays at international hubs as airlines integrate the attestation check into their existing boarding workflows. We anticipate that while this is currently focused on the DRC, the U.S. government may maintain this infrastructure to rapidly deploy similar health-screening requirements for other regions should global health conditions fluctuate in 2027.