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NEW YORK (AP) -- A woman on probation for stowing away on an international flight has been arrested again after sneaking onto a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Milan, Italy, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter.
Svetlana Dali, convicted in 2024 for flying to Paris without a passport or ticket, was taken into custody Thursday at Milan’s Malpensa Airport, said the official, who was not authorized to disclose information publicly about the case and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
FBI spokesperson Emily Molinari said the agency’s Newark office was “aware of the alleged stowaway,” but didn’t immediately disclose additional information. The FBI is working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark Liberty International Airport, and the Transportation Security Administration “on this open investigation,” Molinari said.
United Airlines, which operated the flight, said it is “investigating this incident and working with the appropriate authorities.”
Michael K. Schneider, Dali’s federal defender who was also handling her appeal of the prior charges, declined to comment Thursday. He also declined to comment on whether Dali had a mental health evaluation as the terms of her supervised release required.
“I can’t comment on what she’s done since her release. My office is handling the appeal, which is still pending,” Schneider said.
Dali had been convicted in May 2025 on a stowaway charge for slipping past security and airline gate agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York sneaking onto a flight from New York to Paris.
Surveillance video showed Dali, a Russian citizen with U.S. residency, slip in with a group of ticketed passengers to walk by Delta Air Lines staff unnoticed. In court, Dali said she walked onto the plane without being asked for a boarding pass. On the plane, prosecutors say she hid in a bathroom for several hours and wasn’t discovered until the plane was nearing Paris.