Flying

In 1989 the King obtained a supplementary licence to fly multi-engine jet aircraft. He also has a Military Pilot's Licence, which was presented to him in 1994 by his grandfather, Prince Bernhard. He went on to obtain an Airline Transport Pilot Licence in 2001.

To meet the flight-time requirement for keeping his licence, the King flies as an unsalaried guest pilot with KLM. Until mid-2017 he did so on the government aircraft (PH-KBX) and a Fokker 70 from the regular fleet. The government aircraft is used primarily for official trips by members of the government and accompanying delegations.

In 2017 the King retrained to fly Boeing 737 aircraft, obtaining his licence in June of that year. This enabled him to continue flying as a guest pilot with KLM. His decision to retrain was taken before the contract award procedure for replacing the government aircraft PH-KBX, and was unrelated to it.

At the end of 2017, KLM Cityhopper, which operates flights used by members of the Dutch government, stopped flying Fokker 70s (FK70). In a letter to the House of Representatives of 4 April 2017, the Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment announced that the government had decided that the new government aircraft would be a Boeing 737 Business Jet. The registration is PH-GOV and the aircraft was delivered in 2019. 

On 11 March 2026 King Willem-Alexander flew his final scheduled flight as a guest pilot on a KLM Boeing 737. He flew his final flight on the government aircraft PH-GOV on 7 May 2026. KLM is replacing its Boeing 737 planes with the latest Airbus A321neo. The King has retrained to fly this type of aircraft.