A Russian government plane landed in Germany to evacuate diplomats
A Russian government-owned Il-96-300 landed at Cologne/Bonn Airport on the morning of September 16. The plane arrived to pick up staff from the Russian Consulate General in Bonn, which Germany is closing.
The German Foreign Ministry confirmed that the Russian side had been granted special permission for this flight. Ministry spokeswoman Katrin Deshauer clarified that the permission was required specifically to transport the consulate’s staff out of the country. It is not known how many people left Germany.
The plane, with registration number RA-96018, departed from Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport around 7:00 a.m. and arrived in Cologne/Bonn at 9:43 a.m. Because Polish airspace was closed to Russian aircraft, it was unable to take a direct route and initially flew toward St. Petersburg.
The Il-96 then flew along the Gulf of Finland and entered German airspace from the Baltic Sea. The plane remained in Cologne/Bonn for about three hours before departing back to Moscow at approximately 12:39 p.m.
Russian aircraft are prohibited from flying to EU countries under current sanctions, so this flight required special permission from German authorities.
The flight took place on the eve of the final closure of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn. The German government decided to shut it down effective September 18.
Source: Deutsche Welle.
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