An Air France flight from Paris to Detroit on Wednesday had to stop in Montreal to disembark a passenger who was a national of the Democratic Republic of Congo, due to US precautions in response to the Ebola epidemic, the company said Thursday.

According to flightradar24 data, this flight took off at 4:03 PM (2:03 PM GMT) from Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, and initially landed in Montreal at 5:15 PM local time (9:15 PM GMT).

After a stopover of more than an hour, it was able to take off again towards its initial destination, where it arrived at 20:08 (0:08 GMT Thursday).

Air France told AFP that it had to comply with the "refusal of entry into the United States of a Congolese national customer present on board".

The passenger, who was asymptomatic, "was able to disembark in Montreal," the airline added. "There was no medical emergency on board."

The United States only allows the arrival of nationals from the Democratic Republic of Congo at one airport, Washington-Dulles.

A passenger interviewed by the American network CBS was critical of the captain's communication. According to her, while the plane was flying over the Atlantic, he announced that it would have to make a stopover in Montreal, stating that the aircraft was not experiencing any malfunctions, but without disclosing the exact reason.

She reported becoming concerned when she saw the flight crew wearing masks. "Having a crew wearing masks when they weren't informing us of what was going on is very concerning," she told CBS.