Stowaway caught on flight to Paris identified as Russian national

French National Police said the woman is of Russian nationality and was refused entry to France because she had no visa. She has not been charged.

Ms Dali was able to get through an advanced imaging technology body scanner at JFK airport, and dodge document and ID checks during the security process.

In a statement provided to BBC’s news partner CBS, a TSA spokesperson confirmed that “an individual without a boarding pass was physically screened without any prohibited items. The individual bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations and boarded the aircraft.”

But it remains unclear how she was able to get through and board the plane.

“Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security,” Delta said in a statement. “That’s why Delta is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred and will work collaboratively with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to that end.”

The Guardian reported that once on board, Ms Dali moved from one bathroom to another and never took a seat – until flight attendants began to notice.

A social media video posted by a passenger shows the moment a captain explained to the plane that officials were coming to remove the woman.

“Folks, this is the captain, we are just waiting for the police to come on board,” he said in the video. “They may be here now and they directed us to keep everyone on the airplane until we sort out the extra passenger that’s on the plane.”

A man on the flight shared mobile phone video with CNN of the woman, who remains in France, allegedly making a disturbance on another flight that was set to return her to New York.

He said she repeated: “I do not want to go back to the USA. Only a judge can make me go back to the USA”.

BBC has not independently verified the videos and it is unclear what the woman meant.