Germanwings crash: Mood at Barcelona airport

Several visibly upset relatives of those on board Germanwings flight 4u9525 arrived at Barcelona's El Prat airport on Tuesday at lunchtime.

Some were openly crying and being comforted by family members, while others looked distraught as they attempted to avoid the awaiting media scrum of mostly Spanish cameramen and reporters.

Relatives were quickly whisked away to a private room by airport authorities before they could talk to the media.

One man, Geordi Campoy, described how he returned to the airport upon hearing the news of the crash. He said that one of his work colleagues was on the doomed flight and that the rest of the office was in shock.

Completely unaware of the utter grief felt by these relatives just a few steps away, arriving passengers hugged and joked as they greeted each other in the arrivals hall.

Some stopped and watched as groups of three or four people walked past them, hugging each other and covering their faces.