NEW YORK — A Brooklyn federal jury on Thursday convicted Svetlana Dali, a Russian national and U.S. permanent resident, of stowing away on a Delta Air Lines flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Paris in November 2024, after she bypassed security checkpoints and gate agents.
The jury found Dali guilty of a federal stowaway charge after evidence showed she boarded Delta Flight 202 to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport on Nov. 26 without a valid boarding pass or ticket. Prosecutors argued that Dali exploited a security vulnerability by slipping through a crewmember-designated TSA lane and blending in with legitimate passengers boarding the overnight flight.
Dali, who previously lived in Philadelphia, admitted under oath that she did not have a boarding pass. “I walked to where the people were boarding and just got on the airplane,” she testified during her brief trial in Brooklyn federal court. She claimed she spent most of the transatlantic journey hiding in the aircraft’s lavatory.
Surveillance video obtained by ABC News showed Dali approaching Gate B38 at Terminal 4, where she loitered nearby as passengers had their documents checked by gate attendants. When a separate group of customers was waved through, Dali closely followed behind and entered the jet bridge without being stopped.
According to an FBI criminal complaint, Delta flight crew became suspicious during the flight and discovered that Dali was not listed on the passenger manifest. Upon arrival in France, she failed to provide documentation to French border officials and was denied entry at customs. French authorities refused to admit her into the country, forcing her to be returned to the United States.
When officials attempted to place Dali on a return flight to the U.S., she resisted and was ultimately removed from that aircraft. She was later transported back to New York under federal custody to face prosecution.
During her interview with FBI agents, Dali admitted to boarding the aircraft without a ticket, confirming she had deliberately evaded security protocols and airline staff in order to travel internationally without paying.
Following her arrest, Dali was granted pretrial release in December 2024. However, she allegedly violated release conditions by removing her court-ordered ankle monitor and traveling to Buffalo. There, she attempted to flee to Canada via bus across the Peace Bridge on Dec. 16, 2024, but was intercepted by border officials and taken back into custody. She has remained detained ever since.
Though U.S. District Judge Frederic Block has yet to set a sentencing date, Dali faces a potential prison term of up to six months. With over five months already served, she may be credited for time behind bars.
In response to the security breach at JFK Airport, a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration confirmed that an internal review had been conducted. “Additional security measures are now in place to prevent future incidents,” the agency said in a statement. “TSA’s protocols are continuously evolving to address threats and vulnerabilities in the aviation system.”
The case has raised fresh concerns over airport security procedures at one of the busiest international travel hubs in the country. Aviation experts and lawmakers are calling for enhanced scrutiny of security operations to prevent future stowaway attempts and to rebuild public trust in the integrity of the nation’s air travel infrastructure.
