At last — something different in the news. Not about a war, or a mass shooting, or the nominees for the Cabinet of the incoming U.S. administration; but still of international interest, with a touch of intrigue.

It began last week, when a woman described as Russian, age 57, was found to have stowed away on a Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Paris. She had managed to slip through multiple security checkpoints at JFK Airport — an amazing feat in itself — and board the plane without a boarding pass. Hiding out by switching from one rest room to another, she was finally noticed by flight attendants, and was arrested upon landing in Paris.

Authorities took charge, and scheduled her to return to the U.S. — in U.S. custody — on another Delta flight on Saturday. However, once on the plane, she began screaming, saying, according to witnesses, “I do not want to go back to the USA. Only a judge can make me go back to the USA.” Delta then refused to allow her on their flight. [Saskya Vandoome, Catherine Nicholls and Mark Morales, CNN, December 3, 2024.]

At that point, the woman’s identity had not been revealed by the press, nor had her place of residence or citizenship.

Fortunately, a second report a bit later in the day was able to provide a few more details. The woman has now been identified as one Svetlana Dali, and is said to be seeking asylum in France — though from whom, or why, is not yet clear. French authorities have said she doesn’t qualify for asylum or entry into the country as she has no visa.** She is, at the moment, stuck in limbo at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris without a visa or a boarding pass. [Rachel Looker, BBC, December 3, 2024.]

** Since no visa is required to enter France for a stay of under 90 days with a U.S. passport, this raises the question as to what country’s passport Ms. Dali carries.

So . . . does this remind anyone of a Tom Hanks movie?

The BBC article refers to Ms. Dali as a “Russian national.” But she keeps repeating that she does not want to return to the United States, with apparently no mention of Russia. In fact, she is so determined not to return here that she created a disturbance on yet a second flight to New York.

A source in France told CBS News that Ms. Dali has not been arrested or detained . . . though I’m sure she’s under close surveillance at the Paris airport. But the source did say she might face charges such as criminal trespass and theft of services in the U.S. — not to mention whatever it is she’s trying so desperately to get away from in the first place.

So we look forward to the next chapter in the saga of the woman with the Russian first name, Spanish last name, no ticket to anywhere, and a fear of something or someone in the United States. I couldn’t begin, with the present dearth of hard information, to speculate as to what her story might be.

Maybe she voted for Kamala Harris.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/3/24