Frightening video shows woman bypassing TSA and gate agents WITHOUT a plane ticket

By LAUREN ACTON-TAYLOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: 21:20 BST, 23 April 2025 | Updated: 21:28 BST, 23 April 2025

A shocking video showed the moment a woman snuck through TSA checks and Delta gate agents at JFK airport without an airplane ticket. 

The video showed how Svetlana Dali, a Russian citizen and US permanent resident, allegedly boarded a transatlantic Delta flight at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City travelling to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France on November 26. 

Dali, who pleaded not guilty to a federal stowaway charge, was seen in the footage surpassing an agent and blending in with a group of passengers as they were ushered onto the flight. 

‘This was very unusual and disconcerting,’ Richard Frankel, a former FBI special agent in charge of JFK investigations, told ABC News. ‘She basically gloms onto the back of that group and goes in as if she’s part of the group.’ 

She placed herself among the group wearing a jacket and a backpack with a grey hoodie pulled over her head.  

After dodging having to provide a ticket to gate agents, she was later discovered on board the flight before it landed in France.  

A criminal complaint claims she hid amid a group of flight crew members entering in a special lane for airline employees as she underwent security screening.  

At one point, she reportedly sat in an empty seat, but at other times she used different bathrooms to disguise the fact she didn’t have a ticket, CNN reported.

Svetlana Dali, a Russian citizen and US permanent resident, allegedly boarded a transatlantic Delta flight at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City travelling to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France on November 26

Dali, who pleaded not guilty to a federal stowaway charge, was seen in the footage surpassing an agent and blending in with a group of passengers as they were ushered onto the flight

According to court records, upon her return to New York, Dali admitted to authorities that she had boarded the flight without a ticket and intentionally evaded security and Delta employees

Jairam Dookoo, who was onboard the flight, said Dali initially pretended to try to look for her documents before she got into an argument with airline staff.

‘She took 10 minutes to just find her bags, to try and find her boarding pass,’ he told ABC News. ‘Which she did not have at all.’

Jairam Dookoo, who was onboard the flight, said Dali initially pretended to try to look for her documents before she got into an argument with airline staff

She was returned to the United States and taken into custody before she was shortly released. 

TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein told ABC News: ‘As a result of our review, additional security measures are now in place. TSA’s security measures are always evolving to ensure this type of incident does not happen again.’ 

Dali then allegedly attempted to cross into Canada after cutting off her ankle monitor. 

She had apparently managed to cut off her ankle monitor, which her Philadelphia roommate found on the floor, at which point he reported her missing, law enforcement sources told CNN. 

Dali then is said to have boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Canada, where she was nabbed and thrown in a New York jail, where she remains. 

Her lawyer previously claimed that Dali was no worse than a turnstile jumper and that she had committed a ‘relatively minor crime.’ 

According to court records, upon her return to New York, Dali admitted to authorities that she had boarded the flight without a ticket and intentionally evaded security and Delta employees. 

:
Frightening video shows woman bypassing TSA and gate agents WITHOUT a plane ticket

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk