Share and Follow
A Russian national with a history of stowing away has once again made headlines by allegedly sneaking onto a plane, this time at Newark Liberty International Airport. Reports suggest that Svetlana Dali managed to board a flight bound for Milan without a ticket, raising concerns about airport security.
According to a law enforcement source familiar with the case, Dali managed to evade security checks at Newark and successfully boarded the flight to Milan on Wednesday. The Associated Press revealed that Dali, who lives in the United States, slipped past the ticket agent unnoticed and remained undetected by the flight crew until the aircraft was airborne.
Now reportedly in her late 50s, Dali was apprehended upon arrival at Malpensa Airport in Milan, where authorities took her into custody on Thursday. This incident marks yet another chapter in her history of unauthorized travel.
In a related image, Svetlana Dali, aged 57, is depicted wearing a brown sweater while undergoing screening by TSA agents at JFK Airport in November 2024. This image is provided by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey via AP.
Svetlana Dali, 57, is seen in a brown sweater being screened by TSA agents at JFK Airport in November 2024. (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey via AP)
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Dali was already convicted in Brooklyn federal court on a stowaway charge from a November 2024 incident during which she boarded a Delta flight from New York to Paris without a ticket.
In July 2025, she was sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release and was ordered to pay a fee of $100.Â
Prosecutors said Dali bypassed security at JFK Airport and walked onto the Delta plane without a boarding pass, eventually being found in the airline’s bathroom.
Dali had argued she boarded the flight to seek medical treatment because she thought the military had poisoned her. A jury found her guilty.
Dali appealed the ruling, and the appellate case is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, Fox News Digital has learned.
According to court documents, Dali submitted a brief in December 2025 with the government expected to respond by March 4, 2026.
Svetlana Dali, center, seen with a large backpack, gray hoodie and black jacket blending in with other passengers. (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey via AP)
Dali has also been involved in other airport security breaches.
In February 2024, customs agents reportedly discovered her hiding in a bathroom in a secure international arrivals area at Miami International Airport.
Dali reportedly claimed she had just arrived on an Air France flight, but a government memo states there was no record of her being on a flight that day or of her departing the U.S. at any point in the previous five years.
Prosecutors also said that, two days before the JFK incident, Dali accessed a secure area of the departures terminal at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut.
Svetlana Dali is accused of bypassing security in Newark and boarding a flight to Milan Wednesday. (iStock)
On Thursday, FBI spokesperson Emily Molinari told The Associated Press the agency’s Newark office was “aware of the alleged stowaway.”
The FBI is working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark Liberty International Airport, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) “on this open investigation,” Molinari said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the FBI, TSA and United Airlines for comment.
Related Article
