Came after another pilot went above and beyond to reassure passengers

A pilot who once flew with killer airman Andreas Lubitz yesterday spoke of how he flew the 'route of death' between Barcelona and Dusseldorf just two days after the Alps tragedy.

Frank Woiton said he hugged each individual passenger as he boarded the plane and prepared to retrace the route taken by the ill-fated Germanwings jet.

The father-of-two described a 'crazy mood' among the crew and passengers, saying 'you could read it in their faces'.

Speaking to German newspaper Bild, the 48-year-old told of how he received a huge round of applause after he delivered an emotional speech before take off.

Reassuring: Pilot Frank Woiton, who once flew with Andreas Lubitz (pictured), said he hugged each individual passenger as he boarded the plane and prepared to retrace the route taken by the ill-fated Germanwings jet

'Sure, I will take your from Dusseldorf to Barcelona. You can rely on the fact that I want to sit this evening with my family at the dinner table,' he told passengers over the intercom.

He added: 'People should see that in the cockpit there is also another human being.'

Mr Woiton, who also volunteered to work the day after the crash when a number of Germanwings crew refused to fly, also described a flight he shared with Lubitz.

'I remember him well and I left my seat from time to time in the air to use the toilet.

‘When I flew with him he told me of his training and how happy he was. He said that he wanted to fly long-haul routes and become a captain.

‘He had mastered the plane very well, he had everything under control. That’s why I left him alone in the cockpit, to go to the toilet.’

His revelations came after a woman travelling on another Germanwings flight described how another pilot had gone above and beyond to reassure passengers.

Britta Englisch wrote on the airline's Facebook page that the pilot on her domestic flight in Germany had greeted each passengers individually before making a speech in the cabin.

The unnamed pilot, flying a Germanwings plane from Hamburg to Cologne the day after the crash, was met with applause after assuring passengers they would be coming home safe to their families.

Admirable man: Britta Englisch wrote on Germanwing's Facebook page how her pilot had greeted each passengers individually before making a speech in the cabin, promising to get them home to their families

Translated from German, Mrs English writes: 'Yesterday morning at 8:40am, I got onto a Germanwings flight from Hamburg to Cologne with mixed feelings,' Englisch wrote on the Germanwings Facebook page.

'But then the captain not only welcomed each passenger separately, he also made a short speech before take off. Not from the cockpit — he was standing in the cabin.'

'He spoke about how the accident touched him and the whole crew. About how queasy the crew feels, but that everybody from the crew is voluntarily here.'

'And about his family and that the crew have a family and that he is going to do everything to be with his family again tonight.'

'It was completely silent. And then everybody applauded. I want to thank this pilot.'

Loss: Relatives of the victims of the Germanwings Flight 4U9525 crash on Tuesday put down flowers at the memorial in Le Vernet, south-eastern France earlier today

Killer: Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz is suspected of having deliberately piloted Germanwings flight 4U9525 into the mountain, killing all 150 people on board, including himself, in the worst air disaster in Europe in recent history

All 144 passengers, including two babies, 16 teenagers from a German high school, and six crew members lost their lives in the crash

'He understood what everybody was thinking. And that he managed to give, at least me, a good feeling for this flight.'

The story, posted by Mrs Englisch on Germanwings Facebook, has since become a social media hit, with nearly 300,000 likes and 17,000 shares.

All 144 passengers, including two babies, 16 teenagers from a German high school, and six crew members lost their lives when Germanwings Flight 4U9525 crashed on Tuesday.

Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit of the Airbus before setting the airliner's controls to descend into a rocky valley, obliterating the plane and killing all 150 people on board.

Germanwings chief executive Thomas Winkelmann said those who died came from at least 13 different countries - with 72 German nationals and 49 people from Spain confirmed to have been on passenger lists for the plane.

Today, investigators trying to piece together why Lubitz crashed the plane have revealed he tore up a doctor's sick note for the day of the disaster.