A Russian woman who made international headlines for stowing away on a Paris-bound flight in 2024 has been arrested once again for sneaking onto a United Airlines flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to Milan, Italy.

Svetlana Dali, a Russian citizen and legal permanent resident of the United States, reportedly bypassed airline staff at Gate C74 and boarded United Flight 19, a Boeing 777-200, on Wednesday night (Feb 25) without a ticket. The flight departed Newark at 5:51 pm local time. Dali remained undetected during the more than seven-hour journey, only to be discovered by the flight crew during the flight. Upon arrival in Milan on Thursday, local law enforcement detained her.

The FBI’s Newark office confirmed it was aware of the alleged stowaway and is working closely with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to investigate the incident. United Airlines also said it is cooperating with authorities. “Safety and security are our highest priorities. We are investigating this incident and working with the appropriate authorities,” a United spokesperson said.

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This is not Dali’s first encounter with authorities over air travel. In 2024, she was convicted for sneaking onto a Delta Air Lines flight from JFK to Paris, claiming she was trying to escape a supposed poisoning attempt. Surveillance footage at that time showed her walking past airline staff and boarding the plane without a ticket or passport. During that flight, she hid in the bathroom to avoid the crew but was eventually discovered and extradited back to the US, appearing in a Brooklyn court. Her federal public defender argued during the previous trial, “We do not believe she is a serious risk of flight. It’s not as if she can sneak on a flight every day.” She was released without bail in November 2024 but quickly ran afoul of the law again in January 2025 after cutting off her ankle monitor and attempting to board a Greyhound bus to Canada. She was sent to Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre and remained on supervised release.

At the time of her latest arrest, Dali was still serving her one-year supervised release. Boarding the United Airlines flight to Milan without authorisation has now triggered a new investigation by federal and international authorities. The incident raises renewed concerns about airline security, particularly the ability of determined individuals to bypass standard checks even in highly regulated US airports. Authorities have not released further details on potential charges, but it is expected that Dali will face federal prosecution for aircraft trespassing, endangering flight safety, and violating terms of supervised release. Meanwhile, United Airlines and airport security officials are reviewing procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Dali’s repeated attempts have made her an unusual figure in aviation security cases, prompting questions about gaps in airport and airline monitoring and the legal mechanisms for dealing with high-risk repeat offenders.

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