A 57-year-old woman, Svetlana Dali, has been arrested at Kennedy International Airport for allegedly stowing away on a flight from New York to France. Despite not having a passport or boarding pass, she managed to blend in with crowds and board the plane during the busiest travel period.
According to prosecutors, Dali exploited weaknesses in the security system by infiltrating a flight crew and passing through a checkpoint with them. She then slipped past Delta Air Lines employees who failed to ask for her boarding pass and boarded the fully booked plane. On the flight, she attempted to avoid detection by ducking into the aircraft’s bathrooms.
Dali faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison if found guilty of sneaking aboard an aircraft. Her defense team argues that the charge is relatively minor, akin to theft of services or jumping a turnstile. However, prosecutors are concerned about her potential for flight and raised questions about the airport security system.
The incident raises troubling questions about airport security, particularly during peak travel periods. While the Transportation Security Administration claims it ensured Dali was not carrying any prohibited items, she was seen as the biggest prohibited item by former inspector general Mary Schiavo.
Dali had provided two different home addresses to prosecutors and claimed she had been sold for $20,000 in 2014 by a Russian government official. Her defense team also stated that she had requested asylum in France and believed she was poisoned, which may have contributed to her attempted flight. However, prosecutors said Dali arrived at the airport without a boarding pass and failed multiple security screenings before being detected.
The incident has sparked concerns about the effectiveness of airport security measures, particularly when it comes to detecting stowaways. As one aviation official noted, Delta’s security infrastructure was “sound,” but in this case, a deviation from standard procedures allowed Dali to board the plane undetected.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/nyregion/stowaway-delta-flight-ny-paris-court.html