“We must confirm to our deepest regret that Germanwings flight 4U 9525 from Barcelona to Düsseldorf has suffered an accident over the French Alps.

“The flight was being operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, and was carrying 144 passengers and six crew members…”

This was the official statement of Germanwings on Tuesday.

These kind of statements always send ice cold shivers down my spine, as it means the ‘Angel fleet” up above gained new members, as we flight attendants say.

Flying is statistically the safest way to travel. But if something goes wrong, the scale of the catastrophe and tragedy is enormous.

Remember all the victims not only of the Germanwings incident, but also of the Malaysia Airways flights last year.

How do we as cabin crew deal with these kinds of incidents? I am a cabin manager, based in Gatwick and operate on A320 aircrafts amongst others.

On the day the sad news of the tragedy came through I was due to get ready for a flight to Edinburgh.

My crew and I were shocked, but as flight and cabin crew we are trained to be professional.

On the bus to our aircraft I prayed silently for the Germanwings crew and the passengers, but then we went on with our job, as it is expected from cabin crew.

And by doing so we honour all cabin crew present and past.

Though the glamour of our profession belongs to the past, in the world of cabin crew the camaraderie is priceless, across all airlines worldwide.

As cabin crew we are a big international family. We are trained to the highest standard, being prepared for every possible situation on board an aircraft.

As cabin crew we need and have the skills of a waiter, a nurse, a psychologist, a police officer, a comedian, sometimes even of a midwife.

Most of the time this is forgotten but for the waiter part.

As cabin crew we know, respect and feel connected to fellow cabin crew, because we know we can rely on each other.

When I fly I privately tell the operating crew that I am one of them, just in case they need help.

We are a close bunch worldwide and that is why incidents like the one from Tuesday shock us the most.

You can be absolutely sure that everywhere where Germanwings crew are these days, in our cabin crew network they and their families will be looked after as well as they can be.

And all together we will find some sort of comfort in the words: ‘Flight attendants don’t die, they just fly higher!’

Michael Inkpin-Leissner,

Brighton-based cabin manager