CDC Order Requires Ebola Attestation From Everyone Boarding U.S.-Bound Flights, Private Jets Included

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order effective November 3, 2026, requires every person boarding a U.S.-bound flight from any foreign country to sign an attestation before departure confirming no presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) within the previous 21 days. The order runs through December 18, 2026, unless CDC modifies or rescinds it earlier. It was published October 22 and amended October 28.

The order covers commercial, general aviation and private aircraft, and applies to U.S. citizens, nationals, lawful permanent residents, foreign travelers and flight crews, including travelers in transit. There is no general exception for private or business aviation. The narrow exemptions cover government-authorized transport of Ebola patients and exemptions CDC grants for humanitarian or important government reasons.

The duty rests with the aircraft operator, including U.S.-bound operators under Part 91 and Part 135. Operators must collect a signed attestation from every traveler before boarding, deny boarding to anyone without one outside the narrow exemptions, retain each attestation for at least 42 days after arrival, and accept paper or electronic signatures. A parent or authorized adult completes the attestation for any traveler under 18, and false statements carry criminal penalties.

The 21-day window reflects Ebola's maximum incubation period, so travelers become eligible to board on day 22. The clock starts on the day a traveler leaves the DRC, regardless of the country from which the U.S.-bound leg departs.

Uganda and South Sudan are handled separately. For U.S. citizens and nationals present in Uganda or South Sudan, and not the DRC, within 21 days, CDC requires entry only through designated airports, where they undergo health screening and receive CDC text reminders to monitor their health for 21 days. The routing rule applies even if an aircraft only stops in those countries. The currently designated airports are KIAD, KATL and KJFK; U.S. Customs and Border Protection removed Houston (KIAH) from the original list for flights departing after August 31, 2026.

A separate CDC order in force since May 18, 2026, and renewed in 30-day steps, suspends entry of certain foreign nationals present in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan within the previous 21 days. It does not apply to U.S. citizens and nationals.

CDC has held a Level 4 Travel Health Notice, advising travelers to avoid all travel, for Ituri and Nord-Kivu provinces in the DRC since August 4, 2026. It also advises against nonessential travel to Haut-Uélé and Tshopo provinces, and reports that Kenya's Ministry of Health confirmed an imported case and linked cases in Nairobi.

CDC's May 2026 Health Advisory describes the outbreak as caused by Bundibugyo virus in the DRC and Uganda, with an incubation period of 2 to 21 days. This reflects federal guidance as of November 5, 2026, and requirements may change.

Border health measures have usually reached private aviation indirectly, through airline-centred screening. This order names the aircraft operator as the responsible party and offers no business-aviation exception, so a Part 91 owner-operator and a Part 135 charter certificate holder carry the same collection and retention duty as a scheduled carrier. For a segment built on short-notice trips and passenger lists that change late, the practical effect lands in dispatch and trip-support workflow rather than at the airport.

The 42-day retention requirement and the criminal penalties for false statements make the paperwork a compliance record, not a courtesy form. Itineraries that touch the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan, or that route through them, now need the attestation, the 21-day clock and the designated-airport rule checked together before a trip is accepted.

The order's own end date of December 18, 2026, and CDC's option to modify or rescind it earlier, are the markers to follow, alongside the 30-day renewals of the separate entry-suspension order.