A royal surprise: Brunei’s Sultan Bolkiah captains aircraft 747-400 to Delhi

NEW DELHI: The world’s richest men and women usually don’t drive their cars or fly their planes. Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the longest-serving monarch after Queen Elizabeth II, is one of those who does and piloted his jumbo jet to New Delhi on Wednesday to attend the Indo-Asean Commemorative Summit and India’s Republic Day celebrations.
The aircraft landed in New Delhi with the Sultan himself in the cockpit, to the surprise of some of those present. This is the Sultan’s first trip to India since the Modi government came to power in 2014. While oil-rich Brunei may not make headlines, unlike other SE Asian countries, this feat of the 71-year-old Sultan has put the nation in the spotlight.

Officials recalled that the Sultan had captained the aircraft on his previous visits to the Indian capital in 2008 and 2012. The Sultan usually pilots his 747-400 on overseas trips. Ranked among the wealthiest royal rulers in the world, the Sultan celebrated 50 years of his reign on October 5 last year.

Apart from flying, the Sultan is passionate about cars – the royal family is said to maintain a collection of over 100 vehicles and the palace has an underground garage to accommodate them. The Brunei ruler once owned one of the largest private car collections in the world.

Also attending the summit and Republic Day function is Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, who has taken on the US, its closest ally for decades, and turned to China and Russia.