A Russian national with a history of stowing away has reportedly repeated the act, this time managing to board a flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to Milan without a ticket, according to recent reports.
Svetlana Dali is accused of evading security measures at Newark and successfully boarding the flight to Milan last Wednesday. This information comes from a law enforcement official knowledgeable about the situation.
The Associated Press has revealed that Dali, who resides in the United States, allegedly bypassed the ticketing process and went unnoticed by the flight crew until the aircraft was already airborne.
Now in her late fifties, Dali has reportedly made it to Milan. She was detained on Thursday upon her arrival at Malpensa Airport, according to sources.
Photographs of Svetlana Dali, aged 57, show her wearing a brown sweater while being screened by TSA agents at JFK Airport in November 2024. (Image courtesy of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey via AP)
Previously, Fox News Digital reported that Dali had been convicted in Brooklyn federal court for a similar stowaway incident in November 2024. During that event, she boarded a Delta flight from New York to Paris without possessing a valid 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.
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 currently pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second 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 allegedly 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.
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.
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