Astraeus Limited held a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence and was therefore permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.

[2] After establishing itself as a reliable charter carrier to UK leisure tour operators for both summer and winter seasons, the fleet was extended in 2004 to include Boeing 757 aircraft.

Astraeus was a 100%-owned subsidiary of Eignarhaldsfelagid Fengur hf, an Icelandic-based travel group that also owned the Iceland Express airline.

The airline cited a lack of contracts for the winter of 2011 and some "extremely bad luck" with technical issues as reasons for ending operations.

Iron Maiden commissioned an Astraeus 757 as transport for their Somewhere Back in Time tour in 2008 and nicknamed it Ed Force One, flown by the lead singer Dickinson himself.