Dutch King secretly worked as a passenger pilot for 21 years

Dutch King Willem-Alexander has revealed for the first time that he has been a commercial pilot for 21 years. He joins the crew twice a month to satisfy his passion.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander often flies commercial planes of KLM Cityhopper. Photo: AFP

NewspaperTelegraafKing Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands revealed in a recent interview that he often served as co-pilot on commercial flights for KLM Cityhopper and previously for Dutch airline Martinair.

For the past 21 years, King Willem-Alexander has been flying twice a month, which has helped him relieve some of the stress of his royal role. Flying also allows him to focus completely on his work.

“For me, the most important thing is that I have a hobby that I need to focus on completely. You have an airplane, passengers and crew. You are responsible for them. You can't concentrate on anything else. That's the most exciting thing about flying,” said King Willem-Alexander.

King Willem-Alexander has revealed that he is taking training to fly Boeing 737s so he can continue to serve as a flight crew. The Fokker aircraft he usually flies will soon be replaced.

King Willem-Alexander began his love of flying as a schoolboy and after graduating from high school, he trained to be a pilot. Taking flights twice a month helped him to earn the required 150 hours a year to keep his flying license.

King Willem-Alexander said that many passengers used to look into the cockpit and were surprised to recognize him. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US, the cockpit door was always closed, few people knew they were being served by the Dutch King himself, although he sometimes spoke to passengers on behalf of the captain.

“I have the advantage of being able to speak to passengers on behalf of the captain and crew without giving them their names. However, most people never hear the crew speak,” King Willem-Alexander revealed.

According to Dan Tri