Flights From Ebola Outbreak Zones Must Land At VA Airport, Feds Order

DULLES, VA – In response to the Central African Ebola disease outbreak, the U.S. government announced Thursday that all U.S.-bound passengers who have spent time in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda or South Sudan within 21 days of their arrival in the U.S. may only enter the country through Dulles International Airport.

The order includes American citizens and lawful permanent residents. Non-citizens who have traveled to those countries are already temporarily blocked from entering the U.S.

Agents from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be on hand at Dulles to implement enhanced public health screening measures, the government says.

The restriction applies to any flight departing after 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, May 20. It does not apply to crew or to cargo-only flights.

More details can be found in the Homeland Security Alert issued on Thursday.

An Ebola disease outbreak was confirmed in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo on May 15. On Sunday, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in DRC and neighboring Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths, AP reported.

This outbreak was caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare strain of the virus that causes Ebola disease. There is no vaccine for this strain of the disease, so treatment is limited to supportive care.

As of Monday, the CDC had issued Travel Health Notices for both the DRC and Uganda and had issued a 30-day block on any non-citizen entering the U.S. if they had spent time in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan.

South Sudan does not have a confirmed Ebola outbreak but is considered at high risk because of its proximity to affected areas in eastern DRC and Uganda, its limited healthcare infrastructure and the frequent movement of people across the country's borders, the U.S. government says.

Ebola disease is a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever illness. It is contagious and usually spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or their remains. Rarely, it can be spread from an infected animal to a human. According to the CDC, symptoms of the disease caused by this strain of Ebola can begin from 2 to 21 days after exposure, and on average, symptoms begin within 8 to 10 days.

The CDC reports that this is the 17th recorded Ebola outbreak in DRC since the virus was first identified in 1976, with the most recent outbreak ending in December 2025. According to the CDC, “The Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus was first identified in Uganda in 2007 and has historically been associated with somewhat lower case fatality rates than other species of Ebola virus disease, though severe disease and death can still occur. Previous outbreaks of BVD have had mortality rates of approximately 25 to 50 percent.”