She may not be in same league as Marilyn Hartman (yet), but serial stowaway Svetlana Dali has resurfaced again after slipping onboard a transatlantic United Airlines flight and making it all the way to Italy.
Serial Stowaway Allegedly Slipped Onboard Newark To Milan Flight…
Dali, the same woman who made international headlines in late 2024 for boarding a Delta Air Lines flight to Paris without a boarding pass, has reportedly done it again. This time, law enforcement officials say Dali was on board a United Airlines flight from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Milan, Italy, before being taken into custody after landing.
United flight UA19, operated by a Boeing 777-200, departed Newark at approximately 5:50 p.m. on February 25, 2026. The aircraft crossed the Atlantic in just over seven hours, touching down at Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) around 7:15 a.m. local time the following morning. Italian authorities reportedly took Dali into custody shortly after arrival.
United Airlines confirmed it is investigating the incident and said it is cooperating with the appropriate authorities. It isn’t clear how she managed to get onboard in Newark or was discovered onboard, but I except those details will be forthcoming.
As a frequent United customer who flies out of Newark, the gate areas there tend to be so chaotic that it doesn’t come as a surprise that she was able to slip by and onto the plane. I do wonder whether she had a valid ticket at all (perhaps to a domestic destination) or also managed to slip through the TSA checkpoint without a valid ticket, which has become much harder then in days past.
Just Like The Delta Incident…
This episode mirrors Dali’s earlier stowaway case from November 2024, when she slipped through security at John F. Kennedy International Airport and boarded a Delta Air Lines flight bound for Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. In that case, she reportedly hid in a lavatory for much of the flight and was only discovered by crew members during the aircraft’s descent into France.
Following that incident, Dali was arrested overseas and later returned to the United States, where she was convicted in federal court for being a stowaway. She was sentenced to time served and placed on supervised release, which included restrictions on travel and a requirement to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Those conditions appear to have been violated. After the Paris incident, Dali also removed an ankle monitor and fled to Buffalo, New York, where she attempted to cross into Canada on foot before being detained.
> Read More: Stowaway On Delta Air Lines Flight To Paris Busted Again Trying to Sneak Into Canada
Italian officials are now handling the case, and further legal proceedings including extradition to the USA are expected.
CONLUSION
Svetlana Dali has again been apprehended for stowing away on a transatlantic commercial flight, this time on United Airlines. While it isn’t clear how she got through security or onto the United 777, she was discovered onboard and arrested upon arrival in Italy.
As amusing as this story is, it shows that Russian-born Dali has some serious problems…she should not be allowed near an airplane, perhaps ever again, but I hope she gets the help she needs…
you seem to make this “mistake” often
“As a frequent Untied customer who flies out of Newark,”
I am sure that Putin would take her back and then send her to the front lines.
I do make that mistake often because the spell checker does not mark it as a misspelling.
20 years ago there used to be a site called untied.com that was a consolidated source for United complaints. I even wrote about it in 2011:
https://liveandletsfly.com/the-poor-folks-at-united-airlines-customer-service/
I know about that site which is why I have wondered if you trying to resurrect it.
You’ll have to slow down when you type that word or voice dictate that part. 🙂
and the mistake also involves flying UA out of EWR. I wondered which one you would fess up to.
Not my favorite Dalí… much prefer the surrealist over this half-rate stowaway performance artist.
Kirby will be pleased United is now competitive in the elusive stowaway market! Good leads the way!
I never understood how this happens with the colossal amount of money spent on security and supposedly scanning everyone’s boarding passes. Clearly GAs don’t really care which at times I suppose I don’t blame them.
I expect as facial biometrics becomes more common at security lines and then following with airline boarding, incidents such as this will become even more infrequent if not impossible.
The boarding pass and/or piggybacking on families is how she likely got through the “chaotic” queue. It will be interesting to see how she got past TSA in that TSA now scans faces as well as boarding passes. Perhaps the judge didn’t put her on a no-fly list?
Anyhoo, thanks for following up with this popcorn munching saga. Amusing.
What I really don’t understand about the US justice system is the insistence on punishing people for victimless crimes just to make a point. I fail to see who she has harmed, and how we, as a society, are better with her walking around with an ankle bracelet on, or in jail. We would be way better off learning from this woman, because she seems to find a hole in every security apparatus out there.
Is her real name Ada Quonsett? The stowaway from the book and movie, “Airport.” 🙂
The Port Authority should just ban her from all its facilities. She’s overstayed her welcome at the Port Authority.
Upon the stowaway’s arrival in Italy, she was greeted by by the authorities, saying: “Well, Hello Dali!”
Is EWR really that insecure?
To the attention of all airports & airlines that emphasize to “take safety and security very seriously”!