The woman has been charged with stowaway after authorities claim she boarded a flight in New York over Thanksgiving without a ticket and was arrested when she landed in Paris.
On Thursday afternoon, Svetlana Dali showed up for her arraignment in federal court in Brooklyn. She appeared to be in agony and was limping when she arrived. Later, she sat between a Russian interpreter and her lawyer, Michael Schneider of the Brooklyn Federal Defenders.
She passed through metal detectors at airport security, according to her lawyer, who also argued that her acts were comparable to stealing services or jumping a turnstile.
Dali can be fined, imprisoned for up to five years, or both if found guilty.
Since the Federal Bureau of Investigation filed the complaint that led to the accusation, she did not enter a plea on Thursday. This is because defendants do not enter a plea during their initial appearance; rather, they do so only after being formally indicted by a grand jury.
After the government and defense reached an agreement on a temporary order of detention to create a bail package and confirm Dali’s residence, Dali is scheduled to appear in court again on Friday.
Dali is a permanent resident of the United States, according to Schneider, and authorities are looking find a Pennsylvania residence for her.
Dali feels her life is in jeopardy if she is held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, according to her attorney.
New York to Paris with no ticket
According to an FBI criminal complaint, Dali boarded Delta Flight 264 on November 26 on his way to Charles de Gaulle Airport from John F. Kennedy International Airport.
A Transportation Security Administration official stated in a statement last week that she boarded the aircraft without a ticket after evading two security and ticketing checkpoints. According to the spokeswoman, she passed a thorough security check prior to boarding, indicating that she was not a security risk and had no forbidden goods with her.
Dali arrived at JFK Airport at 8:13 p.m., according to the FBI complaint.
According to the FBI complaint, she attempted to enter the security line at 8:24 p.m. but was denied entry by a TSA officer when she neglected to present her boarding card. By using a special lane for airline workers “masked by a large Air Europa flight crew,” Dali was able to join the security line five minutes later, the complaint claims.
According to the FBI complaint, Dali boarded the Delta flight at 10:03 p.m.
“Delta agents, who were busy helping ticketed passengers board, did not stop her or ask her to present a boarding pass,” the lawsuit stated.
According to the FBI complaint, Delta staff discovered she wasn’t authorized to be on the flight before it landed at 10:37 p.m., when it was scheduled to depart for Paris. They informed French police enforcement of the situation after Dali was unable to produce her boarding pass when they requested for it.
According to the FBI complaint, Dali was arrested by French officials as soon as the plane touched down in Paris. She was later refused admission into the nation because she lacked a valid visa and travel document, according to a representative for France’s border police.
After creating a commotion, she was then taken off her Sunday return trip to the United States.
According to a senior law enforcement source, Dali was arrested in New York after returning to the United States on a Delta flight on Wednesday.
In an interview with authorities at JFK, Dali acknowledged boarding the airplane without a boarding card, according to the FBI complaint. She also admitted to agents that she was aware that her actions were unlawful.
“Among other things, she stated that she did not have a plane ticket and that she intentionally evaded TSA officials and Delta employees so that she could travel without buying one, including by looking for opportunities to circumvent them when she knew they would ask for her boarding pass,” the complaint filed by the FBI stated.
Bypassing airport security ‘rarely happens’
Although Dali “did bypass a number of levels” of security at JFK, TSA administrator Admiral David Pekoske stated, “I would emphasize that she was screened.”
It is “not that easy” and “rarely happens,” according to Pekoske, for a passenger to get over security procedures.
At the height of the Thanksgiving travel rush, on November 26, Pekoske said that it was “crystal clear” from security footage that she was attempting to avoid security checkpoints on what was described as a “incredibly busy day.”
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!