The King of the Netherlands Has Been Secretly Flying as Co-pilot for 21 Years

The chances that you would fly in the same plane with a celebrity may seem to be quite slim seeing that most of them would probably fly on private planes or business class so you won't be able to have a personal encounter with them.

Moreover, these people would usually have guards around them to provide security so the chances get slimmer and slimmer that you would be able to get close.

But what if, you find yourself on the plane with royalty. Not just that, but they are actually serving as the co-pilot who is flying you to your destination.

Recently, the Dutch King Willem-Alexander revealed that he has been serving as co-pilot twice a month for the past 21 years, flying commercial passengers incognito. Though it is known that he had been a "guest pilot" before ascending the throne, what was unknown until now was that he often flew as king with KLM Captain Maarten Putman:

Willem-Alexander once said that if he had not been born in a palace, his dream would have been to fly a big passenger plane such as a Boeing 747, so it is no surprise that he intends to retrain for the updated plane.
He told De Telegraaf that he never used his name when addressing passengers and was rarely recognised in uniform and wearing his KLM cap. However, he admitted that some passengers had recognised his voice.
"The advantage is that I can always say that I warmly welcome passengers on behalf of the captain and crew," he said. "Then I don't have to give my name."

Read the full story over at the BBC.

(Photo: Natascha Libbert/@KLM)


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