57-year-old stowaway who flew from New York to Paris found guilty

A Flight Without a Fare

In a case that sounds more like the plot of a heist thriller than a courtroom proceeding, 57-year-old Svetlana Dali has been convicted of illegally boarding an international flight from New York to Paris without a boarding pass, passport scan, or airline staff clearance.

The Russian-born U.S. resident managed to slip past multiple layers of airport security at John F. Kennedy International Airport and board a Delta Airlines flight bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport, all without a valid ticket.

On Thursday, a federal jury in Brooklyn found her guilty on a stowaway charge after a remarkably swift trial. The entire legal process, including jury selection and opening statements, unfolded in just three days. Dali even testified in her own defense on the second day.

The Day of the Flight

According to courtroom testimony and security footage, Dali was initially denied entry at a TSA checkpoint after failing to show a boarding pass. Undeterred, she joined a special TSA lane meant for airline employees. Cloaked by a large group of uniformed Air Europa crew members, she successfully passed through security screening.

Then came her boldest move—blending in with a group of ticketed passengers walking through a Delta gate. Surveillance video revealed her trailing close behind the crowd, slipping past two inattentive gate agents and boarding the plane undetected.

Dali hid in the airplane's lavatory for hours. She later claimed in court that she was feeling unwell, which is why she concealed herself in the bathroom. Delta crew members eventually discovered her mid-flight, just as the plane neared European airspace.

Upon arrival in Paris, French authorities detained her before she could pass through customs. She was soon deported back to the United States.

A Troubled History of Security Breaches

The Paris flight incident wasn’t Dali’s first encounter with airport security. Court records paint a picture of a woman who had made several previous attempts to evade travel protocols.

Two days before the Paris incident, Dali reportedly made it through TSA screening at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, again without a valid boarding pass. She was unable to board a flight there and eventually left the airport undetected.

In February 2024, she was found hiding in a secured bathroom at Miami International Airport. Claiming she had just arrived on an Air France flight and was waiting for her husband, Dali was questioned, fingerprinted, and escorted out of the airport when agents couldn’t confirm her arrival. There was no evidence she had legally entered the country.

Federal authorities have not confirmed whether Dali illegally boarded a flight into Miami, but her statements to law enforcement after her Paris arrest implied she had flown in without proper documentation. Officials confirmed that there were no records of her being legally admitted to the U.S. in the past five years.

A Life of Flight and Fear

During her interrogation by FBI agents, Dali claimed she left the United States out of fear, alleging that she had been poisoned and that local police refused to protect her. These claims were not corroborated by any evidence presented during the trial.

Following her return from Paris, she was released under electronic monitoring. But her freedom was short-lived. She was rearrested in Buffalo, New York, after cutting off her ankle monitor and attempting to enter Canada.

The Verdict and What Comes Next

Although sentencing has not yet been scheduled, Dali faces up to six months in federal prison under current guidelines. As of now, she has already spent more than five months in custody.

Her attorney, Michael Schneider, declined to speak after the verdict.

This bizarre case not only raises questions about Dali’s motivations but also highlights vulnerabilities in airport security systems that allowed a person without documentation to bypass multiple checkpoints at major international airports.

A Wake-Up Call for Aviation Security

While Dali’s case may seem like an anomaly, it underscores the importance of constant vigilance in air travel security. Her repeated success at evading protocol at multiple airports—using only cunning and the cover of crowds—serves as a cautionary tale for global aviation authorities.

Airports worldwide may now be reevaluating how passengers move through secure zones, especially when blending with authorized airline staff or larger passenger groups.

As for Svetlana Dali, her fate will soon be decided by the court. But the ripple effects of her audacious journey from New York to Paris are sure to be felt for some time.