Bruce Dickinson has said goodbye to Iron Maiden’s Boeing 747 jumbo Ed Force One.
The vocalist and pilot flew the customised plane around the world on the band’s The Book Of Souls world tour.
But Dickinson has revealed that his flight to Gothenburg for tonight’s show in the Swedish city would be his last – even though their mammoth trek still has 20 shows remaining.
Before the flight, Dickinson says: “This is my last flight on Ed Force One. Myself and Steve are going down to Gothenburg and when she gets there, she’s going to go back with the Icelandic flight crew onboard to Iceland.
“But she’s got one more mission – appropriately enough, it’s gonna go down to see a football match. They’re going to fly 350 people from Iceland down to Marseille to go and see a bit of what might be giant killing – Iceland v Hungary on Saturday.”
Dickinson says it feels “weird” saying goodbye to Ed Force One, and adds: “I’ll miss the big bird but you know what? The show must go on.”
After Maiden’s headline set at Download last weekend, bassist Steve Harris said he thought Dickinson was singing “better than ever.” The Book Of Souls won Best Album at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods earlier this week.
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Iron Maiden Book Of Souls tour
Jun 17: Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium, Sweden
Jun 19: Dessel Graspop Metal Meeting, Belgium
Jun 21: Herning Jyske Bank Boxen, Denmark
Jun 23: Kaunas Zalgirio Arena, Lithuania
Jun 25: Moscow Olimpiyskiy, Russia
Jun 29: Hameenlinna Kantolan Tapahtumapuisto, Finland
Jul 01: Sopron Volt Festival, Hungary
Jul 03: Wroclaw Stadium, Poland
Jul 05: Prague Eden Arena, Czech Republic
Jul 06: Zilina Airport, Slovakia
Jul 09: Viveiro Resurrection Festival, Spain
Jul 11: Lisbon MEO Arena, Portugal
Jul 13: Madrid Barclaycard Center, Spain
Jul 16: Barcelona Rock Fest
Jul 22: Milan Mediolanum Forum, Italy
Jul 24: Rome Rock in Rome Sonisphere, Italy
Jul 26: Trieste Piazza dell’Unita D’Italia, Italy
Jul 27: Split Spaladium Arena, Croatia
Aug 02: Esch-sur-Alzette Rockhal, Luxembourg
Aug 04: Wacken Open Air, Germany
