Stowaway evaded airport security by sneaking through staff line

A stowaway who flew from New York to Paris in late November used a special lane for airline employees to get into the security line without a boarding pass, according to a complaint filed in a New York court on Thursday.

Svetlana Dali, a 57-year-old Russian national, mixed in with a large Air Europa flight crew and was then screened by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents despite not having a ticket.

Ms Dali slipped by Delta Airline agents who were busy helping other passengers at the gate and onto the plane.

She was arrested in Paris after Delta staff realised while the plane was in the air that Ms Dali did not have a ticket.

She appeared in court in New York on Thursday.

Ms Dali told US investigators after her arrest that she was flying as a stowaway intentionally on Delta flight number DL264, according to the court complaint.

She allegedly said she evaded TSA security and Delta employees so she could travel without having to buy a ticket.

When shown airport security footage of her evading airport staff, Ms Dali said that it was her in the images, FBI investigators said.

She also allegedly stated that she knew her actions were illegal.

The incident alarmed Delta airlines, which said in a statement last week that it was "conducting an exhaustive investigation" of what had happened and that the company was cooperating with law enforcement.

In a statement to CBS News, the BBC's US news partner, the TSA said that it is "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".

After her arrest, Ms Dali attempted to claim asylum in France, a source familiar with the matter told CBS.

French authorities denied her request, saying that she did not meet the criteria for asylum.

She allegedly caused a disturbance and had initially refused to board a return flight to the US.

Ms Dali is expected to be charged for being a stowaway on a vessel or aircraft without consent, a crime that carries up to five years in prison.