CNN
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The extraordinary journey of a stowaway who made it to Paris aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from New York last week has alarmed both aviation experts and travelers.

Russian national Svetlana Dali, 57, was identified as the rogue passenger, according to French authorities. She was arrested by the FBI on Wednesday after her deportation to the United States. His first court appearance is scheduled for Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said.

Dali is expected to be charged with being a stowaway on a ship or plane without consent and could face up to five years in prison.

While his case raises serious questions about airport security, here’s what we know:

Dali sneaked aboard Delta Flight 264 from New York’s JFK International Airport to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport on November 26.

Attempting to remain unnoticed, she hid in the bathroom to stay out of sight of the crew, according to a passenger’s account.

“I heard the flight attendants talking to the pilots about it,” New York real estate broker Rob Jackson told CNN. “They said this person was in a toilet and then came out and went to another toilet and stayed there for a long time.”

Crew members did not alert passengers to the presence of a stowaway among them until the plane landed in the French capital, Jackson said.

“The first announcement to passengers that there was a problem was when we pulled up to the gate and they all asked us to stay seated because the French police were going to board the plane to sort it out. ‘a serious security problem,'” he said.

In a video recorded by Jackson, a voice on the plane’s intercom says: “Guys, this is the captain, we’re just waiting for the police to come on board.” Maybe they’re here now and they’ve asked us to keep everyone on the plane until we sort out the problem of the extra passenger on the plane.

Dali was arrested by French police, who deemed she was not authorized to enter the country and ordered her returned to the United States.

Who is Svetlana Dali and what do we know about her?

Records indicate that Dali once lived in the Philadelphia area.

Authorities did not say whether she had ever attempted to board a plane or whether she was already known to law enforcement. It is unclear how long she was in the United States.

Dali had requested asylum in France a few years ago, a Paris airport official told CNN.

After her arrest at Paris airport, she was due to return to the United States on Saturday – but was kicked off a Delta flight to New York after creating a disturbance before takeoff.

She finally took off on Wednesday. Wearing a black jacket, a pale gray hat and a pink scarf, Dali sat quietly in the central aisle at the rear of the plane, flanked by two French security officials.

During the flight, she would sometimes lean her head against the seat in front of her and look at the ground or close her eyes and listen to music.

Dali refused to speak to CNN after landing.

CNN attempted to contact Dali’s family and friends to learn more about her.

Dali bypassed an employee in charge of the known crew member checkpoint at JFK’s Terminal 4, then proceeded through checkpoints where his ID and boarding pass should have been checked, told CNN a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration.

At the front door, she stood in the middle of what appeared to be a family traveling together, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. She was not carrying any prohibited items, according to a TSA spokesperson.

Asked repeatedly to describe what happened at the gate, Delta made no comment.

The airline said it had reviewed its own security after the incident and insisted its infrastructure “is robust”.

Delta blamed the breach on a “deviation from standard procedures,” but did not specify how it deviated from its usual security practices.

“We are addressing this matter in depth and will continue to work closely with our regulators, law enforcement and other relevant stakeholders,” Delta said in a statement. “Nothing is more important than safety and security.”

CNN contacted Delta to ask if Dali would be banned by the airline.

TSA inspectors are also preparing a civil case against Dali after viewing security video from inside JFK Airport, an agency spokesperson told CNN. The TSA cannot initiate criminal charges, but it can refer them to the Department of Justice.

The incident should serve as a “wake-up call” for the airline industry, according to a CNN aviation analyst.

Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said: “This is a really big problem and it leaves our vulnerabilities exposed to the world. »

CNN’s Chris Boyette, Ray Sanchez, Pete Muntean, Alexandra Skores, Rebekah Riess, Holmes Lybrand, John Miller, Taylor Romine and Amanda Jackson contributed to this report.