the meaning of "make certain allowances"

[kjc0123]

What is the meaning of "make certain allowances" in the following sentences?

As Langdon and Sophie looked on, Teabing got up and went to the far side of the cabin, then slid aside a wall panel to reveal a discreetly hidden wall safe. He dialed in the combination, opened the safe, and extracted two passports. "Documentation for R�my and myself." He then removed a thick stack of fifty-pound notes. "And documentation for you two."
Sophie looked leery. "A bribe?"
"Creative diplomacy. Executive airfields make certain allowances. A British customs official will greet us at my hangar and ask to board the plane. Rather than permitting him to come on, I'll tell him I'm traveling with a French celebrity who prefers that nobody knows she is in England�press considerations, you know�and I'll offer the official this generous tip as gratitude for his discretion."

[Lillabet]

"make certain allowances" is used as a euphemistic term for not following the rules - usually in return for something. In this case money.

In this example he is saying that the staff at the executive airfield will not follow the proper procedure of coming on to the plane to check documents in return for the generous tip / bribe.