Thomas Cook air stewardess from Waterlooville 'heartbroken' at losing her job

Alannah John worked as cabin crew for the Thomas Cook at London Gatwick airport for three years before finding out she had lost her through the media in the early hours of Monday morning.

The 21-year-old from Waterlooville later received an email sent to all employees breaking the news.

She got home from her final flight - which was to Zakynthos - at around 4pm on Sunday and, despite being awake since 1am the same day, stayed up to wait for the news.

She said: ‘It felt so long waiting for it. It was my life for three years and it was my social life too. I went to work and that was where I spoke to people. It’s hard work.’

There were talks among employees three days prior to the news that it could be a possibility but many of the staff laughed it off not thinking it would become a reality.

She said: ‘We laughed and joked and then we realised it was serious. I’m gutted.

‘It’s hard work when you’ve been somewhere for three years and it just goes under like that.’

Alannah studied cabin crew at Highbury College in Cosham before taking on her first cabin crew role at the company at 18 and staying there since.

Over the last three years she has made lots of close friends and says the job is her ‘life’.

There are already plans for a gathering of all 350 staff who work from London Gatwick, who Alannah says have all been very supportive of each other.

Some of her colleagues are on the hunt for new jobs already with some changing career paths completely, but Alannah says she ‘can’t see herself doing anything else’.