Starting at 23:59 Eastern Standard Time on 3 November 2026, every passenger on an international flight to the United States must complete and sign a declaration, on paper or electronically, before boarding. The form confirms that the traveller has not been in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the previous 21 days. That includes a stop at a Congolese airport while remaining on the aircraft. The rule applies whatever the country of departure, so it covers people leaving Romania, including trips with a stop at another European or international airport.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the order on 22 October. Airlines must check that each passenger has a personal declaration and refuse boarding to anyone who does not present one, except travellers granted an exemption by US authorities. The duty also covers US citizens and people who only transit the United States on the way to another country. A parent or authorised representative may sign for a minor or for a person who cannot complete the document. Carriers must keep the forms for at least 42 days after the flight arrives in the United States and provide them to US authorities on request. Intentionally giving false or misleading information can bring criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment.
People who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last 21 days, including US citizens, cannot board aircraft bound for the United States. They may travel there from the 22nd day after leaving the country. The 21-day period matches the longest incubation time of Ebola, the interval between infection and symptoms. The United States already applied temporary travel limits to people recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo and to certain categories of travellers who had been in Uganda or South Sudan. The new order extends the signed-declaration requirement to all international passengers flying to the United States.
US authorities introduced the measure against the background of an Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The outbreak affects the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda and has spread to Kenya and Nigeria, where new cases have been confirmed. According to a World Health Organization epidemiological update, the Democratic Republic of Congo had reported 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths by 20 October, a fatality rate of about 48 percent among confirmed cases. The outbreak affects 66 health zones in eight provinces, and transmission continues in several regions of the country.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has published a new risk assessment finding that the danger to the population of the European Union, including Romania, remains very low. The agency stresses that health systems should be ready to identify and manage any imported cases. Through the mandatory declaration, US authorities aim to reduce the risk of importing Ebola cases and to strengthen prevention of the virus spreading through international travel.