Would Banning Flights From Africa Keep Ebola Out of the U.S.?

There have been a lot of calls from politicians and others in the U.S. for a ban on flights from West Africa as a way of keeping Ebola out of the country. This proposed strategy comes despite the fact that the one African-origin person bringing Ebola into the U.S. (Thomas Duncan from Liberia) came to the U.S. by way of Brussels, not directly from West Africa. As a not-infrequent traveler to West Africa, my sense has been that there really aren't that many direct flights, and Nate Silver has confirmed that:

There are no regularly scheduled direct flights to the U.S. from Liberia, Guinea or Sierra Leone — and very few from other countries in West Africa. There are far more flights from West Africa to Western Europe instead. Duncan’s case was typical. Before arriving in the United States, he connected through Brussels. [see map below]

By contrast, there are hundreds of flights per week to Western Europe from these countries. Paris is the top destination, with a total of 79 flights per week (counting flights on one route that is currently suspended but which may become available again by January). London has 43 weekly flights (again, counting onesuspended route). Brussels and Frankfurt have 26 each.

There are also flights from Africa to the Gulf States, from which connections can be made to the U.S. So, a travel ban is not going to make any sense. On the other hand, every country should carefully scrutinize any passenger whose trip originated in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea and make sure that the person has no symptoms. That is a global policy that does make sense.