We are united in grief, says UK air steward in solidarity with fallen MAS colleagues

Expressing solidarity with his fallen colleagues at Malaysia Airlines, which suffered two air disasters this year, a flight attendant with a British carrier has spoken up about how cabin crew from other airlines are coping with the tragedy.

Writing on CNN under the pseudonym Dan Air, he said it was hard for any flight attendant to look at the wreckage of an aircraft and to think that it had once been their "office in the sky".

"This was our workspace – and our home, for however many hours. It was a place where we felt safe as we served meals and drinks, carried out safety-related duties, and caught up with our colleagues and friends, laughing and joking about all the latest gossip on 'Galley FM'," Dan Air wrote.

"For an airline to suffer two unspeakable tragedies in just four months is beyond comprehension."

MAS lost a total of 27 flight attendants and crew members following the mysterious disappearance of MH370 in March and the downing of MH17 last week.

Lauding MAS's staff, Dan Air said it was a testament to them that the airline could still operate a full schedule of flights, despite losing many of their friends and colleagues in the space of four months.

"It is difficult to imagine how the crew left behind are still managing to put on their sarong-style uniforms, paint on a smile and go about their duties as normal, after losing so many of their friends and colleagues," he wrote.

The steward, who also writes a blog titled "Confessions of a Trolley Dolly", said flight attendants everywhere are pinning a small black ribbon on their uniform as a show of support to MAS after the loss of MH17, and to remember the "newest angels in the sky".

Dan Air said many crew members had approached him, not sure of their flying careers.

"Unfortunately, there are no words of wisdom for them, no way to take away the pain or the fear many feel over a disaster like this.

"Many crew feel it is their duty to keep flying; a tribute to our fallen colleagues who never made it home; to keep doing the job they love and doing it to the best of their ability," he wrote.

Dan Air said he knew some in the profession who were involved in air accidents.

While some gave up flying for good, some managed to "return to the skies". Yet others have used their experiences to improve air safety, he said.

"Despite many people's belief that we are there just to serve tea and coffee, or to act as a verbal punching bag when something goes wrong, the primary reason we are on board is safety," he went on.

"Every take-off, every landing, every pre-flight briefing, we run through our emergency procedures in our heads. How would we deal with a decompression? An evacuation? A ditching? A medical emergency?

"Sadly, the crew of flight MH17 didn't even get the chance to help their passengers or colleagues. Lives of innocent people wasted in the blink of an eye."

Dan Air recalled that he was on duty on a flight to Amsterdam when news of the MH17 incident broke.

"As we boarded the flight, one gentleman in particular appeared very upset. When I went to see if he was OK he told me that four of his friends had been on the flight. Then he burst into tears.

"I was speechless, the full impact of this tragedy hit me and all I wanted to do, like so many other flight attendants that day, was to get home and see my family and friends and tell them I loved them," he added.

Dan Air said he was moved by the outpouring of love and support on his blog for the "fallen brothers and sisters" at MAS, Wednesday's TransAsia Airways crash in Taiwan and yesterday's Air Algerie disaster in Mali.

"It doesn't matter what uniform you wear, what aircraft you work on, whether you fly for a low-cost carrier or work in first class, we are united together and become a source of constant support in times of need.

Tight bonds form with your airline colleagues, as you are locked in a metal tube with these people for hours on end; bonds I have never known outside of the industry," he wrote, adding that he was hoping to extend the black ribbon idea to a day each year to remember their dead colleagues. – July 25, 2014.