A young pilot flew a commercial jet alongside her father as captain for the first time—while her mother worked in the cabin crew on the same flight.
22-year-old Zoë took to the skies with both her parents aboard the Dutch airline KLM flying out of Amsterdam.
The unique family’s work shift came as a surprise, with none of the three initially realizing their schedules would put them on the same flight.
Zoë grew up watching her father head off to work in his pilot’s uniform, jetting off to far-flung destinations around the world, and it inspired her own love of aviation.
In August, she found herself sitting alongside him in the cockpit while her mother Marjan looked after passengers just a few meters away.
She said it “felt amazing” to finally share the experience of flying with both her parents.
“It was such a wonderful experience.
“My parents met while working on a flight, so it really felt like a full circle moment.”
Her dad Michel has been a pilot for 35 years since completing his training in 1992. Fascinated by his career from an early age, his daughter excelled in math and science at school before deciding to follow in her father’s footsteps and pursue a life in the cockpit.
“I remember my dad’s job seemed so mysterious, because I would never know where he was flying to.
“Then as I got older and visited him at work, I fell in love with it.”
Zoë attended the KLM Flight Academy after being accepted at just 17.
“After two years, I graduated and have been so lucky to be able to fly with my dad five times now and once with my mom.”
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