Germany granted a special exemption for a Russian government Ilyushin Il-96-300 to land at Cologne/Bonn on 16 September and collect staff from the Russian consulate in Bonn after Berlin ordered the mission closed. The aircraft, registered RA-96018, arrived from Moscow-Vnukovo on an unusual route and turned around the same day, departing again a few hours later.
The movement came as Germany prepared to shut the Russian consulate in Bonn by 18 September, part of measures linked to tensions after Berlin blamed Russia for a drone incident at Leipzig/Halle. Russian-registered aircraft are otherwise barred from EU airspace under sanctions, making the state flight a rare diplomatic exception. Germany’s Foreign Office confirmed that the authorisation was limited to the departure of consulate employees, although it did not disclose how many people were on board.