The secret code used by airline staff when a passenger has died

 Over 20 million people have a fear of flying

Airline staff use the code to avoid alarming other passengers About eight million people fly every day. On planes, that is.

This year, The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that four billion travellers will use air travel.

All this means that passenger deaths while 30,000ft (or higher) up is an inevitablity. It's far from ideal, but airlines must have procedures in place to deal with such incidents.

Jim Wilson is probably dead

Over 20 million people have a fear of flying

Down below, cargo might well include a dead person. But occasionally, passengers in the cabin might die, and many airlines have code words to discuss matters without alarming members of the public who are still alive.

Sara Marsden, Editor in Chief for US Funerals Online, has revealed what American Airlines staff use to talk secretly about the deceased.

They call dead fliers 'Jim Wilson'.

You might think that sounds totally random, but it's not. The US company has a dedicated help desk for funeral homes called the "American Airlines Jim Wilson Service".

The name comes from the crates used to transport dead bodies - Jim Wilson Trays are used as the shipping container for human remains. They're packed with ice to preserve them. So it makes sense to use the term to talk about any passenger who might've died midair.

Each year, around 50,000 dead people are flown – usually as a result of people dying abroad. They have to be accompanied by a burial transit permit, and/or a health officer's certificate