Stowaway boards United flight from Newark to Milan
A 58-year-old Russian national residing in the United States was detained in Italy on Thursday morning after boarding a long-haul flight without permission. Specifically, on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, the woman evaded detection and entered United Airlines flight UA19, a Boeing 777-200ER flying from Newark (EWR) to Milan (MXP).
She successfully passed through the TSA security checkpoint and boarded the flight to Europe. At some point during the journey, the crew became aware that she was on the plane without a ticket (the details on how they discovered this remain unclear). At that time, the stowaway reportedly acted as if she could not hear the crew’s inquiries and ignored them.
Upon her arrival in Italy, she was taken into custody, and it is uncertain what will happen next. One would assume she would be sent back to the United States, but the last time that didn’t go smoothly…
This same stowaway flew Delta from New York to Paris
The individual in this case also made news when she was a stowaway on a November 2024 Delta Air Lines flight from New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG). Similar to this incident, she was able to go through security and get onto the airplane.
On that flight, there were no vacant seats available, so she spent the entire journey moving between restrooms and different sections of the aircraft, remaining undetected until well into the flight. She was also apprehended upon her arrival in France.
The intention was to return her to the United States, but she attempted to claim asylum in France. When her request was rejected, she was eventually compelled to take a flight back to the United States, during which she caused a disturbance onboard, necessitating her removal from the plane. After finally returning to the United States, she faced charges related to the incident.
Bottom line
A stowaway successfully navigated through the TSA checkpoint at Newark Airport and then boarded a United Boeing 777 flight to Milan. It wasn’t until well into the flight that the crew noticed something was amiss, but by then, it was pointless to divert. Once the plane landed in Italy, the woman was arrested.
This isn’t her first experience with such antics, having been involved in a similar episode in November 2024, also regarding a transatlantic flight. It’s quite astonishing how much “success” she seems to achieve…
What are your thoughts on this United stowaway incident?