transportation
Health declaration needed for travel to US from France starting next week
Airlines encouraged to give passengers digital form as part of check-in process
Travellers heading to the United States will soon need to complete a health declaration and recent travel history before boarding their flight.
The document is aimed at preventing the spread of Ebola virus onto US soil.
All passengers on international flights entering the US will be required to complete the form, including Americans returning to the country, from November 3.
Passengers transiting at a US airport to an onward destination will also be required to complete the declaration.
Travellers must sign it to confirm that they have not been to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the last 21 days.
The country is the site of a major outbreak of Ebola virus, which has killed a reported 4,800 people there.
The document will be mandatory until December 18, however US authorities can extend this deadline.
The airline or aircraft operator will give passengers a paper form to complete, or a link to an online declaration, and will keep the information for at least 42 days.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which issued the order, has encouraged airlines to include a digital version of it as part of online check-in processes.
