A woman accused of evading airport identity and ticket checks and sneaking onto a flight from New York to Paris was charged Thursday with being a stowaway.
Svetlana Dali, a Russian with US residency, is alleged to have bypassed a checkpoint at New York’s JFK airport, before sneaking aboard a Delta Airlines flight to the French capital on November 26.
She was initially turned away at an airport security checkpoint when she could not produce a boarding pass, so instead passed through a screening channel for air crew by mingling with Air Europa flight staff, the federal criminal complaint reads.
The Transportation Security Administration, responsible for US airline safety, said the woman was subject to physical screening even after her documents were overlooked.
It is unclear why Dali, 57, sought to sneak aboard the Delta flight to Paris, with the crime of being a stowaway carrying a prison sentence of up to five years. She could also be stripped of her US residency.
Dali was challenged by flight attendants midflight when it was revealed she did not have a boarding pass, and detained on arrival in Paris.
Delta said the incident was a “deviation from standard procedures,” with reports claiming Dali had moved between aircraft lavatories so crew members would not realize she did not have an assigned seat.
Dali was flown back to the United States Wednesday after two failed attempts to return her, with the woman thwarting the first attempt Saturday by screaming, while the airline refused to transport her Tuesday.
“Dali admitted to flying as a stowaway… She also stated that she knew her conduct was illegal,” said the FBI complaint.
A federal judge issued a temporary order of detention until Friday afternoon to give Dali time to come up with bail and a verifiable residence, prosecutors said.
Dali did not enter a plea, they added.
