Stowaway Convicted of Sneaking onto Flight from New York to Paris
A 57-year-old woman, Svetlana Dali, has been convicted of stowing away on a flight from New York to Paris without a boarding pass. According to NBC News, Dali was found guilty by a jury in federal court in Brooklyn after a short trial.
The incident occurred at John F. Kennedy International Airport last year, when Dali, a Russian citizen with U.S. residency, managed to slip past security and airline gate agents by glomming onto a group of ticketed passengers. Security video footage showed Dali walking onto the plane without being asked for a boarding pass, despite not having a valid ticket.
In an interview with NBC News, prosecutors revealed that Dali had initially been turned away from a security checkpoint at JFK by a Transportation Security Administration official after she was unable to show a boarding pass. However, she was able to join a special security lane for airline employees and, masked by a large Air Europa flight crew, made it to an area where she was screened and patted down.
Once on the plane, Dali hid in a bathroom for several hours and wasn’t discovered by Delta crew members until the plane was nearing Paris. According to court documents, Dali told the court she went into the bathroom because she was feeling sick.
The flight crew notified French authorities, who detained her before she entered customs at the Paris airport. Dali was eventually flown back to New York, where she was questioned by an FBI agent. During the two-hour interrogation, Dali claimed she flew to France because she had to leave the U.S., where she alleged police refused to protect her from people who were poisoning her.
Dali’s lawyer, Michael Schneider, declined to comment to NBC News following the verdict. The judge did not immediately set a sentencing date, and Dali faces up to six months in prison, according to her sentencing guidelines. She has already been in custody for more than five months.
This is not Dali’s first incident of evading security measures at airports. NBC News reported that prosecutors said Dali evaded security measures at two other airports before the JFK incident, and they believe she may have stowed away on another flight.
In February 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered Dali hiding in a bathroom at Miami International Airport. According to prosecutors, Dali was found in a secured area in the international arrivals zone, was fingerprinted, her baggage was checked, and she was escorted out of the airport after agents couldn’t confirm her story that she had just arrived on an Air France flight and was waiting for her husband.
The incident raises concerns over airport security and the ease with which Dali was able to evade detection. As reported by NBC News, federal agents did not make any findings that Dali had illegally traveled as a stowaway to Miami, but her statements to law enforcement after her arrest in Paris appeared to indicate that she had flown into Miami illegally.
Dali’s case highlights potential vulnerabilities in airport security, and the investigation serves as a reminder of the need for continued vigilance and improvement in security protocols. The incident serves as a serious concern for airport authorities and law enforcement agencies.
The trial and conviction of Svetlana Dali serve as a significant development in the case, and the upcoming sentencing will be closely watched. For now, Dali remains in custody, and her future plans are uncertain.
This recent case demonstrates how seriously law enforcement agencies take stowaway incidents and the consequences of such actions. According to NBC News, as reported in court documents, Dali’s actions put herself and others at risk, and her conviction serves as a warning to others who may attempt similar actions.
