Svetlana Dali, the Delta Air Lines stowaway, arrested again trying to flee US

Svetlana Dali stowed away on a Delta Air Lines flight to France in November.

December 16, 2024, 7:33 PM

Svetlana Dali was arrested for the second time this month on Monday, after a first arrest by the FBI on Dec. 4 for stowing away on a Delta Air Lines flight from the United States to France.

Dali had cut off her ankle monitor on Sunday and was trying to sneak into Canada, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

PHOTO: Miami, Florida, Miami International Airport, Transportation Security Administration, TSA seal
A seal for the Transportation Security Administration.
Jeff Greenberg/Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Imag

The person she was staying with in Philadelphia discovered the bracelet cut and alerted authorities.

An arrest warrant was issued for bail jumping on Monday morning out of the Eastern District of New York.

The Russian national was apprehended in Buffalo on Monday afternoon. She was on a Greyhound bus trying to cross into Canada.

When law enforcement asked her to produce her passport, she did not have one.

She was taken into custody, where it was determined that she was wanted on an open warrant.

Dali will appear in court before a federal magistrate Tuesday.

Dali was originally caught traveling without proper documentation on Nov. 26.

She had sneaked aboard Delta Flight 264, which department from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and was bound for Charles-de-Gaulle International Airport in Paris.

But Dali was unable to avoid detection on the flight, and she wound up being returned to the U.S. days later. Once she landed at JFK, she was turned over to authorities.

PHOTO: Svetlana Dali FB
Svetlana Dali, the Delta Airlines stowaway who flew from JFK International Airport in New York to Charles-de-Gaulle Airport in Paris on Nov. 26, 2024, was identified by her daughter and ex-husband in December.
Svetlana Dali FB

According to a statement from the French Interior Ministry, "She was not admitted to French territory due to lack of a valid travel document (visa) and was placed in the waiting area for the time necessary for her re-routing to the United States since she held a valid US residence permit."

Her attempt to sneak into Canada on Monday appears to be a second attempt to illegally leave the country in fewer than 30 days.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Related Topics