- Title: Dutch king's double life as commercial pilot is "cool" in Holland
- Date: 18th May 2017
- Summary: AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS (FILE - MARCH 27, 2017) (REUTERS) NETHERLANDS' ROYAL PALACE DUTCH KING WILLEM-ALEXANDER AND HIS WIFE, QUEEN MAXIMA, ARGENTINA'S PRESIDENT MAURICIO MACRI, HIS WIFE JULIANA AWADA, ON DAM SQUARE IN FRONT OF PALACE MACRI AND WILLEM-ALEXANDER REVIEWING TROOPS
- Embargoed: 1st June 2017 16:31
- Keywords: flights Dutch King Willem-Alexander Reactions Netherlands secret VoxPop airplane aircraft pilot
- Location: SCHIPHOL, AMSTERDAM AND THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS/ UNKNOWN LOCATION
- City: SCHIPHOL, AMSTERDAM AND THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS/ UNKNOWN LOCATION
- Country: Netherlands
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Royals
- Reuters ID: LVA0036HD9T21
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: People in the Netherlands on Thursday (May 18) reacted positively after King Willem-Alexander revealed in an interview that he regularly flies commercial airline flights a co-pilot.
A Brazilian law student, Vinicius said he did not see the problem if all security procedures are respected.
Also living in The Hague, French yoga teacher Meive Mattmann praised the fact that he did not give up on living a normal life.
King Willem-Alexander spoke of his secret life as a co-pilot on commercial airline flights on Wednesday (May 17), in an interview with De Telegraaf newspaper.
The article detailed how the 50-year-old monarch flew twice a month for 21 years, with his passengers none the wiser.
A keen pilot, the King obtained his Commercial Pilot's Licence in 1987 followed by his Airline Transport Pilot Licence in 2001 according to the official website of the Dutch Royal Family.
The website states that he occasionally flew as a guest pilot with KLM Cityhopper in order to keep his skills sharp and has plans to train on Boeing 737 aircraft in order to continue with the airline when they replace their fleet.
A few hours after the revelation, KLM posted a picture of King Willem-Alexander in the cockpit of one its aircraft wearing his pilot's uniform on social media network Twitter. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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