Published Wednesday, 09 November 2011
Eithne Walls, aged 28 and from Ballygowan, died when the plane from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into the sea in June 2009.
French aviation authorities have now identified 153 victims, but Dr Walls was not among them.
She worked in the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin and was a talented Irish dancer, who had spent a year with Riverdance before going to university.
Dr Walls had been on holiday with her friends from the Republic and was travelling back with them when the crash happened.
The three women had graduated in medicine from Trinity College in 2007.
The body of Jane Deasy from Dublin was among 50 recovered at the time of the tragedy, but there is still no trace of Aisling Butler from Roscrea, Co Tipperary.
A Walls family statement said: "It has always been our most fervent wish that Eithne would be brought home to us and we are intensely saddened that she has not been found."
"The last glimmer of hope for her return to us has now been extinguished and we must now take time to reconcile ourselves to this further devastating news."
"We take some comfort from knowing that Eithne is not alone and is resting with her close friend, classmate and colleague Aisling."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Aisling's family and the families of all passengers."
"We mourn Eithne's loss every day and we mourn the future that we will never have with her."
France's air transport police have revealed that tests conducted last week succeeded in identifying 103 of the victims whose remains were brought up from the crash site in April.
Those were in addition to the 50 victims who were found and identified immediately following the crash of the Air France 747.
The family said it prayed that the continuing investigation would "clearly and comprehensively reveal the cause of the accident and ensure such a preventable accident is not repeated."