Svetlana Dali, a Russian national was charged by a US federal court for illegally travelling on a flight from New York to Paris last week. The Russian woman reached the Paris capital by spending almost the entire trip in the toilets of the Delta flight. "Stowaway" is a serious offense and if found guilty, Svetlana Dali could get upto five years in prison.
The woman accused of sneaking onto a flight from New York to Paris appeared before a judge in Brooklyn. A criminal complaint states Svetlana Dali bypassed security by joining an employee line and boarding the plane while the gate agent was distracted. https://t.co/HzeGyr43mA pic.twitter.com/g0htXZlFzV
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 6, 2024
Svetlana Dali's story didn't end there. After being detained by the French Police upon arrival, she was put on a return flight to the US on Saturday. However, she was evicted from the aircraft before takeoff for creating a ruckus. It was not till Wednesday that the woman was sent back to where she came from.
How did Svetlana Dali fly from New York to Paris without a ticket?
New York's John F Kennedy International Airport witnessed the astonishing development last week, US media reports said. After being turned away at the security check for not having a boarding pass, Dali managed to enter the flight illegally by using the lane reserved for airline employees, CCTV cameras at the airport revealed.
The media reports stated that she confessed that no ticket to make the trip and intentionally tried to get past the Delta employees and security staff to board the flight. She had tried placing herself within a family to pose as a member of a larger group before finding the path secured for the airline staff. She made the most of the opportunity as the Delta staff were occupied checking the travel documents of those with tickets.
Why did Svetlana Dali board a flight without ticket?
According to CNN, the 57-year-old woman had applied for asylum in France a few years ago. Meanwhile, documents with the US authorities found that she was a resident of Philadelphia once. However, there was no data available on how long the Russian lady stayed in the US.
.@SaskyaCNN était à bord du même vol retour vers New York que Svetlana Dali, passagère clandestine de Delta Airlines expulsée de France https://t.co/KzLcf9fCEF pic.twitter.com/i95BZH3QZo
— CNN France PR (@CNNFrancePR) December 5, 2024
However, Dali's luck ran out as soon as the flight took off. She was noticed by multiple passengers and crew running from one toilet to another. They even shot videos mid-flight as she was forced to switch between bathrooms with no seat to occupy and flight crew to hide from.
The Delta crew reportedly decided not to frighten the other fliers and made no announcement, CNN said. Once the flight landed at the Paris airport, the captain announced that there was "a serious security issue" and people couldn't leave until the police arrived.
Soon, Svetlana Dali was detained by the police who started the procedures to deport her back to New York.
Svetlana Dali was produced before a federal court in Brooklyn for arraignment on Thursday, CNBC said. She didn’t enter a plea as the charge was brought by complaint from the FBI.
