For two decades the king of the Netherlands has been putting the royal in KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. King Willem-Alexander said this week that for the past 21 years he has flown twice a month as a commercial airline copilot for KLM’s Cityhopper subsidiary, a regional carrier that flies among European cities, including Dublin.

He was seldom recognised in uniform, particularly after the September 11th terrorist attacks, when safety protocols were introduced to limit access to cockpits, he said. The king would often greet passengers over the intercom but not readily identify himself.

“The advantage is that I can always say that I wish everyone a heartfelt welcome in the name of the captain and the crew,” he told De Telegraaf newspaper, in an interview published on Wednesday. “So I don’t have to say my own name. But most of the people don’t listen anyway.”

Royal flight: King Willem-Alexander (right) and fellow pilot Maarten Putman in the cockpit of their KLM Cityhopper. Photograph: Natascha Libbert/KLM/AFP/Getty

The 50-year-old became king in 2013, after his mother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated, at the age of 75. He became the Netherlands’ first king in 123 years, after three successive queens. Although Willem-Alexander’s love of flying was not secret, his interview revealed far more detail about the extent of his regular piloting for KLM.

Kysia Hekster, a reporter who covers the Dutch royals for the broadcaster NOS, said the interview was intended to highlight the king’s role with the national carrier after he was criticised for taking Emirates Airlines last year to visit Australia and New Zealand.

He is one of a handful of royals who are also known to be pilots. Prince William of Britain was a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot for the British military and has flown for an air-ambulance service. His younger brother, Prince Harry, flew Apache attack helicopters in Afghanistan with the British army air corps. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei sometimes pilots his own flights on state visits.

You cannot take your problems from the ground with you in the sky. You can for a brief moment disconnect and concentrate on something else

Willem-Alexander said the intense focus needed for piloting took his mind away from other concerns. “For me the most important thing is that I have a hobby for which I need to concentrate completely. You have an airplane, passengers and a crew. You carry responsibility for that. You cannot take your problems from the ground with you in the sky. You can for a brief moment disconnect and concentrate on something else. That is the biggest relaxation of flying to me.”

KLM Cityhopper plans to retire its fleet of Fokker 70s, the aircraft the king normally copilots. He said he planned to begin training on a Boeing 737 to continue flying with KLM. – (New York Times)