IT was business as usual for Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson this weekend — not belting out a heavy-metal hit to a packed stadium crowd with his band — but taking control of a Boeing 757.

Dickinson, 50, was one of the pilots and crew who helped man specially chartered flights to ease the crisis facing travellers this weekend following the collapse of XL.

The singer, who has worked for the airline Astraeus for nine years, took up flying during a low point in his solo career after he quit the band in 1993. He trained to fly commercial jets and has been a captain with Astraeus for 2Å years.

Although he rejoined the band in 1999 he continues to work as a full-time pilot taking leaves of absence when the group goes on tour. “My life’s great,” he said yesterday, “I get paid to do my two hobbies.”

Yesterday morning he came to the rescue of 221 holidaymakers stranded in the Egyptian resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh. Last night he was back in the air to collect another batch of tourists stuck on the Greek island of Kos. Earlier this month he flew 106 RAF crew back to the UK after service in Afghanistan on a plane chartered by the Ministry of Defence.

Since rejoining the group, who have sold 80m albums and whose hits include Run to the Hills and The Number of the Beast, Dickinson has flown his bandmates around the world in a customised 757 dubbed “Ed Force One” after the group’s mascot “Eddie”. “I get 80% of my income through performing with Iron Maiden but only spend 20% of my time with the group,” he said.

When not on stage or in the cockpit, Dickinson has also worked as a radio DJ and co-written a feature-length film.

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