{{Infobox airline | airline = Stigl | logo = S T I G L.png | logo_size = 200px | logo_caption = | IATA = | ICAO = | callsign = STIGL | founded = 1992 | ceased = December 1, 1994 | bases = Grozny Sheikh Mansur Airport | fleet_size = 6 | parent = Government of Ichkeria | headquarters = Grozny | image = Stigl airline aircraft.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = }} '''Stigl''' was an airline created in 1992 by separatist government of unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria using aircraft and assets of Grozny UAD of Soviet Aeroflot. The airline never obtained official registration from either Russian or international aviation authorities. The flights were performed from Grozny to airports of Turkey and some Arab countries.<ref name="svoboda">{{cite web|url=https://www.svoboda.org/a/24219067.html|title=Аэропорт Грозного - символическая цель для бомбардировок|publisher=Радио Свобода|author=Вайль, Пётр|date=1999-09-23}}</ref> Most aircraft of Stigl were destroyed during Russian airstrikes on Chechen aerodromes on 1 December 1994, in the beginning of First Chechen War.
==History==
Grozny division of Aeroflot was created in 1934. Throughout decades, it performed flights to destinations in Checheno-Ingush ASSR and other cities of Soviet Union. By the time of Soviet breakup, Grozny United Aviation Division, part of North Caucasian Administration of Civil Aviation, operated a few Tu-134 and An-2.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://russianplanes.net/airline/1368|title=Грозненский ОАО - карточка оператора|publisher=Russianplanes.net}}</ref> In 1991, Soviet Air Forces major general and Chechen nationalist Dzhokhar Dudayev was elected president of Chechnya and shortly after that declared independence of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from Russia, however, this was not recognized by any country. A period of civil unrest and armed struggle between Dudayev supporters and Chechen opposition backed by Russia continued until late 1994, when first Chechen War broke out as a result of Russian troops entering Chechnya in December 1994.
In 1992, Grozny UAD was renamed into air company Stigl (the name was coming from Chechen word ''stigal'' meaning "sky").<ref name="stigl_russianplanes">{{cite web|url=https://russianplanes.net/airline/Stigl|title=Стигл - карточка оператора|publisher=Russianplanes.net|accessdate=2025-03-12}}</ref> The airline was not registered with any Russian or international civil aviation authorities, and thus did not receive a valid air operator's certificate or any official codes. Flights were performed from Grozny airport, which was called Grozny-North during Soviet times and was renamed "Sheikh Mansur airport" by Ichkeria government.<ref name="svoboda"/>
Between 1992 and 1994, Stigl performed charter flights to Arabic countries and Turkey,<ref name="stigl_russianplanes"/> contributing to shuttle trade. Lots of goods were imported into Chechnya and then sold in other regions of Russia without paying any Russian import tax, thus giving advantage to Chechen merchants and being one of income sources for Dudayev's government. According to Andrei Babitsky, these flights could also be used to deliver weapons for Dudayev's army.<ref name="svoboda"/>
One of the aircraft was used as a personal plane for Dudayev. In September 1992, Dudayev's aircraft was detained in Bosnia by French peacekeepers from United Nations Protection Force, possibly in relation to weapons smuggling, however, it was soon released.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rbc.ru/politics/18/12/2019/5df927449a7947b655ff9fdd|title=В Чечне заявили о не прекращавшейся в годы войны связи Ельцина с Дудаевым|publisher=РБК|date=2019-12-18}}</ref>
On December 1, 1994, Russian air force conducted a massive attack Chechen aerodromes, including Grozny airport.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/16176|title=Зачистка с воздуха|publisher=Коммерсант Власть|date=1999-11-16}}</ref> As a result, most of Stigl aircraft were destroyed. [[File:Carcasses of the Stigl airliners.jpg|thumb| Wreckage of planes after the bombing by the Russian Air Force on Sheikh Mansur Airport.]]
==Fleet== Airline's fleet consisted of 6 Tu-134A airliners, inherited from Grozny United Aviation Division.<ref name="stigl_russianplanes"/> At least 2 of them (65014 and 65075) were painted into Stigl's own livery,<ref name="airhistory">{{cite web|url=https://www.airhistory.net/photo/106575/65014|title=Tupolev Tu-134 in Vnukovo on 11 July 1994|publisher=Airhistory.net|author=Helmer, Gerard|date=1994-07-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrischenn76/48294515936|title=65014 Tupolev Tu-134A-3 STIGL (Grozni United Air Detachment)|publisher=Flickr|author=Chennell, Chris|date=1994-05-23}}</ref> others remained in 1973 Soviet Aeroflot livery with markings replaced. Aircraft preserved Soviet registration numbers, although country prefix was removed. Most aircraft were destroyed by Russian airstrike on Grozny airport on 1 December 1994. The only aircraft that remained intact was 65039 (possibly due to not being in Chechnya on that day). The further usage history of it was unknown, but in 2002 it was abandoned in Khartoum airport in Sudan.<ref name="russianplanes 65039">{{cite web|url=https://russianplanes.net/reginfo/10432|title=Ту-134А заводской номер 49080 - карточка борта|publisher=Russianplanes.net|access-date=2025-03-12}}</ref> As of 2017, it remains stored there, severely stripped of many parts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.airpics.net/photo/CCCP-65039-Tupolev-Tu-134-A-3-Untitled/29194|title=CCCP-65039, Tupolev Tu-134-A-3, Untitled|publisher=Airpics.net|author=Fotopoulos, Andreas|date=2011-05-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aviationimagenetwork.com/Aircraft-Scrapping-and-Storage/Khartoum/i-S6H9GqK|title=ST-AFA Boeing 707-3J8C Sudan Airways, CCCP-65039 Tupolev Tu-134A-3 Aeroflot, ST-ASX Ilyushin Il-76TD United Arabian Airlines|publisher=Aviationimagenetwork.com|date=August 2017|author=Bailey}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" ! Aircraft type ! Quantity ! Entered service ! Service Ended ! Tail numbers |- | Tupolev Tu-134A | 2 | 1992 | 1994 | 65896, 65039 |- | Tupolev Tu-134A-3 | 4 | 1992 | 1994 | 65858, 65014, 65030, 65075 |}
==Destinations== Flights were performing charter flights into Turkey and Arabic countries.<ref name="svoboda"/> There are photos available on various spotting sites that depict Stigl airplanes in Munich in November 1994<ref name="munchen">{{cite web|url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/324843|title=Tupolev Tu-134A-3 65075, Wednesday 30 November 1994|publisher=Aviation Safety Network|access-date=2025-03-12}}</ref> and Vnukovo in July 1994.<ref name="airhistory"/>
==See also== * Babyflot * Chechen–Russian conflict * Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Airlines established in 1992 Category:Airlines disestablished in 1994 Category:Chechen–Russian conflict Category:Defunct airlines of Russia Category:Former Aeroflot divisions Category:History of Chechnya