Willem-Alexander has maintained an active flying career alongside his royal duties for decades, holding multiple civil and military pilot qualifications since the 1980s. After earning private and commercial pilot licences, he flew volunteer missions in Kenya for medical and wildlife organisations before later qualifying on multi-engine jets and obtaining an Airline Transport Pilot Licence.
The King has long flown as a guest pilot for KLM Cityhopper, initially operating Fokker 70 aircraft and later the Boeing 737. On 11 March 2026, he completed his final scheduled Boeing 737 flight as KLM transitions to the newer Airbus A321neo fleet. He is now set to undergo training to qualify on the Airbus type.
Separately, the Dutch government replaced its former Fokker 70 government aircraft with a Boeing 737 Business Jet, registered PH-GOV, delivered in 2019 and primarily used for official state travel.
This post was published on 8 May 2026 10:51
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