How Thai King Rama X and Queen Suthida qualify to fly their own jet

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida flew their own Boeing 737-800 into Hanoi on Sept. 14, five days after the country's aviation regulator renewed their qualifications to fly the jet.

Video released by Thailand's foreign affairs office showed the king, 74, in the captain's seat and the queen, 48, as first officer. The jet touched down at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi in heavy rain.

The landing opened a Sept. 14-16 state visit, the first to Vietnam by a Thai king and queen since the two countries established diplomatic relations 50 years ago.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said on Sept. 9 that both royals had passed periodic proficiency checks, Thaiger reported. The regulator then renewed their Boeing 737-300 to 737-900 type rating, instrument rating and performance-based navigation qualification.

Queen Suthida, a former flight attendant with JALways and Thai Airways, completed flight courses with the Royal Thai Air Force and Royal Thai Army between 2010 and 2012, according to her official biography. She trained on the Cessna T-41 and later the CT-4E and PC-9.

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida have spent years training as pilots. Photo by AFP

The biography says she went on to earn a commercial pilot license with a Boeing 737 type rating in Germany, followed by a full airline transport pilot license from Thai authorities. She now flies as first officer on the royal Boeing 737-400 and 737-800.

In August, she began training on the Gripen fighter jet at Wing 7 in Surat Thani, The Nation reported. The program, supervised by Royal Thai Air Force instructors, was designed to build toward a solo flight.

As crown prince, the king, also known by his royal regnal name Rama X, flew the air force's F-5 and F-16 fighters before earning a commercial pilot license at Thailand's Civil Aviation Training Center, the Bangkok Post reported.

He completed airline transport pilot training at Thai Airways in 2004 and qualified on the Boeing 737-400 a year later. By May 2009, he had logged 3,000 hours of commercial flying on the type, according to the newspaper.

In April 2025, the king flew the royal Boeing 737-800 into Bhutan's Paro International Airport with the queen as first officer, opening a state visit.

Paro sits in a Himalayan valley surrounded by steep mountains, and only around 50 pilots worldwide are qualified to land there, the Bangkok Post reported.

The couple flew themselves again on March 16, landing in Vientiane for a state visit to Laos, Khaosod English reported.