57-year-old Svetlana Dali, a U.S. permanent resident, has become the center of attention after bypassing security at JFK Airport and boarding a Delta flight to Paris without a boarding pass. This security breach, however, is not an isolated incident for Dali, who exhibited a pattern of such behavior at multiple airports prior to the November 26, 2024, episode.
According to court documents obtained by NBC New York, Dali was involved in similar infractions at Bradley International Airport where she managed to enter secure areas without a boarding pass just two days before the JFK incident. Dali, who was captured on video at Bradley, made two attempts at the security checkpoint before gaining access through the second attempt, and she appeared to employ tactics similar to those she later used at JFK.
As her series of violations unfolded, Dali also found herself in an incident at Miami International Airport back in February 2024. In that instance, Dali was discovered in a bathroom within a secure international arrivals zone and claimed to have been on an Air France flight, a claim that prosecutors refuted due to absence of records showing either her departure from the U.S. or her arrival on the said flight, NBC New York reported.
Federal prosecutors now aim to introduce Dali's repeated airport breaching behavior as evidence in her upcoming trial. On the Nov. 26 flight to Paris, despite initial detection, she managed to convince a flight attendant that she was ill to explain her long absence in the lavatory. However, her façade was short-lived as she failed to provide a name, identification, or boarding pass upon instruction. This raised alarms and led the crew to separate her from other passengers, as stated in court filings referenced by ABC News.
Post her return to New York, Dali was placed under strict conditions, including the mandatory use of a GPS monitoring device. Nevertheless, she was arrested again after she allegedly cut off her ankle bracelet and approached the Canadian border near Buffalo. As per the indictment, she is now facing a federal stowaway charge and, if convicted, could be looking at a significant prison term. Dali has pleaded not guilty and her trial is set to commence on May 19, reported NBC New York.
