Germanwings crash: Girlfriend of Andreas Lubitz 'too scared to return to Montabaur' over fears 'hatred of world will come down on her'

Woman and her family reportedly have no immediate plans to return to the town where the pair grew up

Andreas Lubitz runs the Airport Race half marathon in Hamburg on 13 September 2009 (Reuters)

The girlfriend of the Germanwings co-pilot suspected of downing a plane is reportedly too scared to return to her German home town for fear of an angry backlash from residents.

The 26-year-old feels as if “the hatred of the world is coming down on her”, which is preventing her from returning to the town of Montabaur, where Andreas Lubitz also grew up, a source described as a friend of her family told The Daily Mail.

The source was quoted by the newspaper as saying the family has no immediate plans to return to the town. “The girlfriend of the co-pilot has nothing to do with what happened," they said.

“But the hatred of the world is coming down upon her, and you know this place is so small, it is very hard for them to come back here.

“They would have to look to find somewhere to stay around here if they wanted to get away. It is just not possible for them to keep a low profile so they are not coming back.”

Her reported fears come despite a pastor from the Lutheran church in Montabaur insisting the community stands with Lubitz and his family.

The woman, who lived with Lubitz in an apartment in Dusseldorf, had quit her teaching job in the town after he became a pilot with Germanwings in 2013. Lubitz had reportedly purchased matching luxury Audi’s for both of them and took her away on holiday shortly before the crash.

The German newspaper Bild reports that she had recently told her pupils that she was pregnant and was only made aware that prosecutors suspect Lubitz of intentionally crashing the plane into the Alps as she travelled to the crash site.

The pair are believed to have met when they were both working for a fast-food restaurant as teenagers.