A federal jury in Brooklyn has found Svetlana Dali, a 57-year-old Russian citizen with U.S. residency, guilty of stowing away on a flight from New York to Paris. The verdict came after a brief trial that concluded Thursday. Dali now faces a maximum sentence of six months in prison, although the sentencing date has yet to be announced. She has already spent over five months in custody awaiting trial.
The case stemmed from a 2023 incident at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where Dali managed to slip past multiple layers of airport security and board a Delta Air Lines flight to Paris without a boarding pass. Surveillance footage showed Svetlana Dali blending in with a group of ticketed passengers, bypassing Delta agents who failed to check her credentials. Once onboard, she hid in a bathroom for several hours and was only discovered by crew members as the aircraft approached Paris. French authorities detained her upon landing and later deported her back to the U.S.
Dali testified in her defense, admitting she boarded the plane without a ticket but claimed she was not stopped or questioned. Her attorney, Michael Schneider, declined to comment on the outcome of the trial.
Multiple Security Breaches Before JFK Incident
Court documents revealed that the Paris incident wasn’t Dali’s first airport security breach. Prosecutors outlined several earlier episodes where Svetlana Dali had successfully or nearly succeeded in bypassing airport security procedures. Days before the JFK flight, she passed TSA, ID, and boarding checkpoints at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut by blending in with a crowd of passengers. However, she was ultimately unable to board a flight and left the airport without incident.
Additionally, in February 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered Dali hiding in a bathroom at Miami International Airport in a secure international arrivals area. She claimed to have just arrived on an Air France flight and was waiting for her husband, but officials found no record of her recent travel and escorted her from the airport. No formal charges were filed at that time, but federal agents later suspected she had once again stowed away on a flight into the country.
Prosecutors believe Svetlana Dali may have illegally entered the U.S. around that time, based on her own statements and the absence of official immigration records confirming her entry in the past five years.
Motives, Arrests, and Ongoing Investigations
Dali told FBI agents that she flew to Paris because she felt unsafe in the United States, claiming that local police had refused to protect her from individuals she believed were poisoning her. Following her return to the U.S., she was released under electronic monitoring but was re-arrested in Buffalo, New York, after cutting off her ankle monitor and attempting to enter Canada.
Federal authorities continue to investigate her past travel history and possible stowaway incidents at other airports. While the Paris flight brought the most attention, officials allege that Svetlana Svetlana Dali has a pattern of security evasion, highlighting vulnerabilities in airport systems and raising questions about the enforcement of aviation safety protocols.
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