A Russian woman who stowed away on a Delta Air Lines flight to Paris was removed from her return flight to New York on Saturday after repeatedly screaming “I don’t want to go to United States” in the cabin.
Svetlana Dali, 57, a legal resident of the United States, was caught without a boarding pass during the fully booked Delta flight 264 on 27 November when a flight attendant became suspicious of the passenger’s long stints in the aircraft bathrooms.
She had evaded two Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checks at New York’s JFK with no ticket before boarding the Paris-bound plane.
In video footage recorded by a fellow passenger on her first flight back to the US, the woman can be heard shouting “Please help me, I don’t want to go to United States” and “I get asylum against United States”, as cabin crew attempted to restrain her.
She was then removed from the aircraft, prompting a two-hour delay for passengers.
Ms Dali, who resides in Philadelphia, did not have valid travel documents to enter France after previously applying for asylum there, said Paris airport officials.
She was refused entry into the country at Charles de Gaulle Airport and ordered to be returned to the US as she did not have a visa.
Following Saturday’s onboard incident, she was returned to French police custody and arrested by the FBI upon her successful deportation to the US – escorted by two French security officials – on Wednesday.
A US federal court charged the Russian with being a stowaway on a vessel or aircraft without consent in Brooklyn on Thursday (5 December).
She faces up to five years in prison if convicted and did not enter a plea in court. A bail decision is expected to be made today.
A spokesperson for Delta said in a statement last week: “Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security. That’s why Delta is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred and will work collaboratively with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to that end.”
The incident is being investigated by federal authorities.
A TSA spokesperson said: “TSA can confirm that an individual without a boarding pass completed security screening (including on-person and bags) without any prohibited items. The individual bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations and boarded the aircraft.”
They told the BBC News that this instance was “the only reported case of unauthorised access when over 18 million passengers were screened at TSA security checkpoints during the busiest Thanksgiving travel season ever”.
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