Author: Elina Vaidya | Wild About Trial
Svetlana Dali has now been caught not once, but two times for sneaking onto an international flight.
On Wednesday, February 25, 2026, Dali snuck onto a United Airlines flight from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to Milan, Italy.
Dali made it past the ticketing counter at Newark, TSA agents, and gate agents for United Flight 19, making her way onto the plane itself. The crew on board began to realize that Dali did not have a ticket, but once they recognized the situation, the plane was well over the Atlantic Ocean, and there was no going back.
She was arrested once the flight touched ground in Milan. FBI and TSA agents are readily aware and investigating the incident. The Port Authority, which runs Newark Airport, is also aware of the ongoing investigation.
While this is something most people will never do, this is certainly not the first for Dali. In 2024, she was a stowaway on a Delta flight from JFK Airport in New York City to Paris.
In May 2025, a federal jury found Dali guilty of a stowaway charge. Federal sentencing guidelines point to a range of zero to six months of federal prison. Having been in custody for seven months, she was sentenced in July to time served and one year of supervised release.
Now, less than a year later, she is facing similar charges once again however she might face more serious consequences for her repeated behavior.
Pending her first trial in 2024, Dali was released on certain conditions of bail. Only weeks into this period, she attempted to remove her ankle monitor and flee to Canada by way of Buffalo. She was subsequently placed in custody for the duration of her criminal proceedings.
She also has a history of sneaking into secure areas in airports. In February 2024, Customs and Border Protection agents found her in the Miami International Airport, “waiting for her husband” after her flight arrived. No records were found. Months later, just two days prior to her first arrest, she was found at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut hiding out in a bathroom and attempting to bypass agents for a JetBlue flight.
As she faces the reality of yet another federal stowaway charge, her flight risk and prior actions will undoubtedly cost her, hopefully preventing future attempts.
