The King of the Netherlands Willem – Alexander is making an official visit to Cyprus with his wife, Queen Maxima.

However, the news published in Dutch media that he was not just a passenger on the royal aircraft, but was also a co-pilot, caused a sensation.

The King of the Netherlands had revealed in 2017 that for 20 years he was co-pilot on KLM, flights in Fokker 70 aircraft. Before that, he was with the airline Martinair. In his interview, he said that he intended to train on Boeing 737s.

“It’s very important to have a hobby that I need to concentrate on completely,” he told the Dutch De Telegraaf. “You have an aircraft, passengers and crew. You have responsibility for them. You can’t take in the air the problems you have on the ground. You have to completely disengage and concentrate on something else. That for me is the most relaxing part of the flight,” he explained.

How he made the announcements as a pilot

King Willem-Alexander obtained his pilot’s license in 1987. He had been flying since 2011, long before he assumed royal duties in 2013. “Before, when the door was open, people would often come to talk to the pilots and they thought it was cool or even weird to see me there,” he had said. However, he admits that few people recognised him when he walked around in his KLM uniform at Schiphol Amsterdam airport.

His admission that although he made announcements to passengers, he did not reveal his identity was also surprising. “The advantage is that I can always say ‘on behalf of the pilot and crew, welcome to the flight’. So I don’t have to say my name. But anyway, most passengers never pay attention to the announcements.“