IF you ever hear the phrase "Jim Wilson" on a flight, you'll be surprised to hear it isn't calling a passenger's name.

Planes carry thousands of dead passengers around the world along with living travellers – so there is a secret name for it.

According to Sara Marsden, the Editor in Chief for US Funerals Online, American Airlines even have a dedicated help desk for funeral homes that they call the American Airlines Jim Wilson Service.

The nickname allows transport services or undertakers to call about a dead body without anyone overhearing.

The name comes from the crates that are used to transport the bodies.

The Alcor 1997 Stabilization and Transport Manual explains that Jim Wilson Trays often used as the shipping container and are packed with ice to preserve the human remains.

Other airlines simply call the dead bodies HR, an abbreviation for human remains.

Around 50,000 dead bodies are transported by plane every year as people often die away from home and need to be transported back to the family for the funeral service.

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Every dead body transported by plane needs to travel in a secured casket and then encased in an airtray, as well as being accompanied by a burial transit permit or a health officer’s certificate.

Amsterdam’s Airport Schiphol also has its own mortuary, which processes around 2,000 bodies a year.

While most airlines are capable of carrying dead bodies, certain airlines like easyJet don’t carry cargo, so are highly unlikely to be carrying any coffins in the hold of the plane.

Jim Wilson isn't the only codeword – as the name Tom Cruise is also used for a secret meaning which is nothing to do with the actor.

Flight attendants have revealed some other secret phrases – including one they use if they fancy you.

Here are some other secrets words used by crew during a flight.

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