Woman Arrested Again for Sneaking onto Flight
NEW YORK — A woman, who was previously on probation for being an international stowaway, has been arrested again after sneaking onto a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Milan, Italy. This information comes from a law enforcement official who requested anonymity due to not being authorized to disclose details publicly.
Svetlana Dali had been sentenced in 2024 for boarding a flight to Paris without a passport or ticket. She was apprehended at Milan’s Malpensa airport on Thursday, according to officials.
FBI spokeswoman Emily Molinari stated that the Newark office is aware of the incident concerning the alleged stowaway but did not provide further details. She mentioned that the FBI is collaborating with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages Newark Liberty International Airport, along with the Transportation Security Administration.
United Airlines, responsible for the flight, commented that it is investigating the incident and cooperating with appropriate authorities.
Dali’s federal defense attorney, Michael K. Schneider, who has also handled her previous appeals, refrained from commenting on the situation. He also did not disclose whether Dali had undergone a mental health evaluation as part of her supervised release conditions. Schneider mentioned only, “I can’t comment on what she did after her release. My office is handling the appeal, which is still pending.”
In May 2025, Dali was found guilty of smuggling at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport after sneaking past security and boarding a flight from New York to Paris unchallenged. Surveillance footage indicated that she, a Russian citizen with U.S. residency, mixed in with ticketed passengers and went unnoticed by Delta staff. Dali stated in court that she boarded the plane without being asked for her boarding pass and prosecutors later revealed she hid in the bathroom for hours before being discovered as they neared Paris.
Upon returning to New York, she reportedly told FBI agents that she felt compelled to leave the United States due to fears of being poisoned.
Before this latest incident, Dali was still under supervised release for a year after serving time in prison. Generally, individuals on probation are prohibited from leaving the federal judicial district where they are supposed to reside without court or probation officer permission. She was also required to undergo mental health evaluations and treatment if necessary.
According to prosecutors, Dali had previously avoided security at two other airports before her JFK incident and might have stowed away on another flight as well. Just two days before boarding the flight to Paris, she managed to pass through a TSA checkpoint at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut, attempting unsuccessfully to board a plane before leaving the airport.
In February 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered Dali hiding in a bathroom at Miami International Airport. She was removed from the airport after officials could not verify her story regarding her arrival on an Air France flight. While there was no direct evidence that she traveled illegally to Miami as a stowaway, her statements post-arrest in Paris seemed to suggest she may have entered Miami without proper authorization.
