Dutch King Willem-Alexander pilots army plane during Falcon Leap exercise

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands piloted an army cargo plane during the Falcon Leap international airborne exercise at Eindhoven Air Base on Thursday, underscoring the monarch’s long-running involvement with aviation. The 58-year-old, who is a licensed pilot, was all smiles as he sat in the cockpit and helped steer the aircraft during the training mission.

The Falcon Leap exercise brings together military personnel from countries around the world, including the United States and the United Kingdom, to practice flying skills and joint operations such as cargo resupply and paratrooper drops from participating aircraft. The annual drill, hosted at Eindhoven, is designed to sharpen coordination among international partners.

During the drills, Willem-Alexander greeted personnel on the ground and joined them in the exercises both on the tarmac and in the air. He stood with servicemen in the cargo hold and leaned close to the edge as two paratroopers prepared for a drop, a moment captured by attending photographers. In the cockpit, the king wore a headset and communicated with his co-pilot and ground control as he piloted the cargo plane, effectively captaining the aircraft as part of the international drill.

Beyond Falcon Leap, Willem-Alexander has a history of flying for royal duties. He earned his private pilot's licence in 1985 and a commercial licence two years later, and has been photographed in cockpits on arriving for state visits. In March, he piloted himself and Queen Maxima to Cyprus for a state visit; in 2022 the couple traveled to Sweden for their three-day state visit. The king also co-piloted a KLM flight to Istanbul in 2018, on duty for the airline, a move that surprised some passengers on board the Boeing 737-800. Those hours in the sky helped him maintain currency as aviation technology evolved, including the government's 2019 transition to a dedicated royal Boeing 737 following earlier arrangements with KLM’s fleet.

Officials have noted that security tightened after the 9/11 attacks, with cockpit doors kept closed more strictly than in the past, a change the king has acknowledged. He has said he is rarely recognized by passengers in uniform, and that the era of open cockpit doors before the attacks is now part of aviation history. The king’s ongoing involvement in aviation has repeatedly put him in front of international audiences as he balances ceremonial duties with hands-on experience in the cockpit, whether flying a state aircraft, piloting a charter flight for state visits, or participating in multinational training events such as Falcon Leap.