The landing of an Ilyushin Il-96-300 belonging to the Russian government caused a stir at Basel-Mulhouse Airport on Wednesday evening. The plane with the registration RA-96018 flew a fairly long detour due to the various restrictions and then touched down in France at around 18:40 p.m.

Actually, this government jet should not land in the territory of the European Union and Switzerland. Basel-Mulhouse airport is not on Swiss Confederation territory but in France. Their government issued an exceptional permit so that the Ilyushin Il-96-300 was allowed to land.

On site, the machine was properly shielded by the French police, since there was naturally a great deal of interest on the part of onlookers. But why is France allowing this landing? According to official information from the Swiss and French aviation authorities, a special permit has been issued that allows Russia to fly out embassy staff.