A 57-year-old Russian woman, Svetlana Dali, has been charged with knowingly and intentionally boarding a Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Paris without a ticket.
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Dali was arrested by the FBI on Wednesday upon her return to New York and made her first court appearance on Thursday.
According to the criminal complaint obtained by media, Dali boarded Delta Airlines flight DL264 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on November 26, 2024, without a boarding pass and flew as a stowaway to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
The judge issued a temporary detention order, allowing Dali until 2 p.m. Friday to propose a bail package and provide a verifiable residence. She did not enter a plea during the hearing.
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Surveillance Footage Details
Surveillance footage from JFK on November 26 showed Dali initially being turned away at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint for not having a boarding pass, the complaint said.
Minutes later, Dali managed to bypass security by joining a special lane designated for airline employees, blending in with a large Air Europa flight crew. She passed through TSA screening and boarded the Delta flight without presenting a boarding pass.
“Delta agents, who were busy helping ticketed passengers board, did not stop her or ask her to present a boarding pass before she boarded the plane,” the complaint noted.
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Discovery Mid-Flight
Flight crew members discovered Dali did not have a seat after the plane was already en route to France.
“Before the flight landed, Delta employees notified French law enforcement that Dali was on the plane as a stowaway,” the complaint stated.
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Admission of Wrongdoing
Upon her return to the United States, Dali was interviewed by the FBI. She allegedly admitted to flying as a stowaway, acknowledging that she evaded TSA and Delta employees intentionally to avoid purchasing a ticket.
Dali reportedly confirmed that the surveillance footage depicted her and admitted that she knew her actions were illegal, according to the complaint.
Previous Legal Action
Less than a week before the stowaway incident, Dali filed a handwritten civil lawsuit against the FBI, Pennsylvania State Police, and other authorities. In the lawsuit, she alleged that the Russian Federation sold her to her ex-husband for $20,000 and claimed she had been abused and poisoned.
The case has drawn attention due to the security breach at JFK, and investigations are ongoing to determine how such an incident occurred.
Authorities urge vigilance and adherence to security protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future.
