Serial Stowaway Is Said to Be Arrested After Sneaking Onto a Plane Again

Source: New York Times

Serial Stowaway Is Said to Be Arrested After Sneaking Onto a Plane Again

Svetlana Dali was detained in Milan after she boarded a United flight without a ticket, according to two people. She was convicted last year of doing the same thing.


Svetlana Dali was detained in Italy after she boarded a flight at Newark Liberty International Airport without a boarding pass. Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

By Santul Nerkar and Tracey Tully
Feb. 26, 2026
Updated 3:21 p.m. ET

A woman who stowed away on an international flight in 2024 without a passport or ticket has been arrested and detained in Italy, after she traveled on a plane from Newark to Milan without a boarding pass, according to two people familiar with the situation. ... Svetlana Dali was detained at Malpensa Airport after she boarded United Airlines Flight 19 without a ticket, after evading airport security and gate agents, according to the people, who asked not to be named because it was an ongoing law enforcement matter.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for United Airlines said it was “investigating this incident and working with the appropriate authorities.” ... Emily Molinari, a spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Newark office, said that the agency was aware of the “alleged stowaway” and was working with airport officials and the Transportation Security Administration on what she called an open investigation.

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It was the latest bizarre incident in the traveling saga of Ms. Dali, who was convicted last year of stowing away on a flight from New York to Paris in November 2024, an event that exposed a shocking security breach during one of the busiest times of year for air travel.

She evaded a podium where a federal security official would have checked her identification, before eluding gate agents by blending into a crowd that was boarding the flight. ... After entering the plane to Paris, Ms. Dali hid in bathrooms for most of the flight. Eventually, after cajoling from a flight attendant, Ms. Dali exited the bathroom but then meandered around the plane and identified herself as Amy Hudson when asked who she was.

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Santul Nerkar is a Times reporter covering federal courts in Brooklyn.

Tracey Tully is a reporter for The Times who covers New Jersey, where she has lived for more than 20 years.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/nyregion/svetlana-dali-stowaway-united-italy-newark.html