Iron Maiden singer rescues stranded holidaymakers

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson piloted one of the planes that rescued XL holidaymakers stranded abroad, passengers said today.

Marc Cryer, who flew into Gatwick Airport on a specially-chartered Monarch Airlines flight from Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, this morning said he knew the musician was also a trained pilot but was still surprised to see him onboard the flight.

He said: “I think I was about the only person on the plane that recognised him.”

Dickinson, a trained Boeing 757 pilot, is known to have been employed by the UK charter airline Astraeus, although the company’s website states it is not currently operating.

A notice on the Astraeus website reads: “The Astraeus website is currently undergoing modification to reflect a change in company strategy.

“Astraeus Flystar is not currently operating any scheduled services and as such the booking site is no longer available.”

A spokesman for Monarch Airlines said: “It is possible that we contacted Astraeus to get a pilot to fly for us. He is a qualified 757 pilot but I can’t confirm it.

“Even if I did know it I would not be able to confirm Bruce Dickinson flew the plane because there are certain data protection issues.”