Budget airliner Germanwings won't release details of the passengers on board an Airbus A320 that crashed into the French Alps with the loss of 150 lives until all the victims' families have been contacted.
It's thought 67 Germans, including 16 school children, a large number of Spaniards and some Turks were on flight 4U9525 when it crashed on Tuesday.
Spain's deputy prime minister revealed there were 45 people with Spanish-sounding surnames on board but it wasn't immediately clear how many were Spanish citizens.
The plane was travelling from the Spanish coastal city of Barcelona to the German city of Duesseldorf when it went down in the Alps in southern France.
The airliner was carrying 144 passengers - including two babies - and six crew members.
French officials say there were "no survivors" following the loss of the plane operated by Germanwings - a low-cost subsidiary of Lufthansa.
The Australian government confirmed two Australians - a Victorian mother and her adult son - were on the plane and consular officials are trying to determine if there were any more Australian nationals or dual citizens nationals involved.
Germanwings chief executive Thomas Winkelmann said it was "a tragic and very sad day".
Airline officials are in Duesseldorf to talk with the relatives of the victims.
"As soon as we know the nationalities of the victims beyond doubt, for every individual, we'll make them public," Mr Winkelmann told reporters via a translator in Cologne.
"We do not want to give any information here before all the families have been informed. As soon as possible we will make this information available."
The airline chief said the flight bookings only detailed passengers' names and email addresses.
Because the flight was within Europe's Schengen Area - which has effectively abolished border controls - no passport details were required.
"We do not know exactly who sat where on the plane - we are clarifying that now," Mr Winkelmann said.
The airline acknowledged there were "contradictory statements" regarding whether or not an emergency call had been made before the Airbus A320 crashed.
It's not yet known why the plane entered "an approach flight" mode mid-flight without telling air traffic control, a technical spokesman said.
The last routine maintenance check of the aircraft took place on Monday by Lufthansa technicians. The last major overhaul was in mid-2013.
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