The first victims' remains from the Germanwings crash are being flown from France to Germany, 11 weeks after the disaster that killed all 150 people onboard.

Dozens of victims' relatives from the March 24 crash in the French Alps have been awaiting the return of the remains. In the first repatriation, 44 coffins are expected to be flown from Marseille to Duesseldorf.

Germanwings parent company Lufthansa has chartered a plane to bring the coffins to Germany, and has said that other remains will be repatriated by month's end.

Elmar Giemulla, a lawyer for families of 34 victims, said many relatives "don't want to realise that their children are dead. It will be brutal when they see the coffins, but it is necessary, because they need closure."

Investigators believe co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who had a history of depression, intentionally crashed the A320 flying from Barcelona to Duesseldorf.

The office of Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin, who is leading a French investigation into the crash, said that he will hold a news conference on Thursday after meeting in Paris with victims' relatives. The victims had 19 different nationalities. Nearly half were German, and 47 were Spanish.

Mr Robin's office said he was expecting 300 to 400 people to attend the closed-door meeting at a Foreign Ministry conference centre in south-west Paris, including relatives and officials representing families who weren't travelling to Paris.