Air New Zealand’s next safety video, due for release in March, will highlight the fundamental importance of Antarctica in understanding global climate change. Click here or on the image below to download a behind the scenes video with Kevin Denholm, Peter Beggs and Air New Zealand Head of Sustainability Lisa Daniell.
The following is a message from Captain David Morgan, Chief Operations Integrity & Standards Officer.
Kia ora. Air New Zealand has supported scientific research in Antarctica for around a decade now. Our efforts have seen new research projects take place both on and below the ice in this incredibly important environment. Each year we also send two employees to Scott Base on secondment to support daily operations.
We firmly believe more people need to be aware of the importance of the research taking place in Antarctica as efforts intensify to understand climate change.
One unique asset Air New Zealand has is our world-class marketing capabilities. So, we are going to use our next safety video, which will be released in March, to draw attention to science research in Antarctica.
The safety video production has been made possible due to our long-term partnership with Antarctica New Zealand and the New Zealand Antarctic Research Institute. An important component of this research is the three-year Biological Resilience Project led by New Zealand scientists. It involves multiple teams of researchers investigating three ecosystems – coastal marine, terrestrial and freshwater, to understand how resilient the animals and organisms are in each of these ecosystems and how they might respond to the changing environmental conditions that are expected in a warming world.
While we’re proud of the work we’re doing to contribute to this vital global research on climate change, we are very aware of the sensitivities around choosing Antarctica as a location. The Erebus tragedy weighs heavily on Air New Zealand and our country, and we have approached the filming in a very respectful way.
Locations were carefully chosen to avoid featuring Mt Erebus and memorial sites, and Antarctica New Zealand CEO Peter Beggs and I have been in contact with the families of those lost during the Erebus tragedy to share with them the objectives of this project and the care being taken to film in a sensitive way.
We’ve taken enormous care to minimise any potential environmental impact of the production while on the ground in Antarctica. In fact, it was one of Air New Zealand and Antarctica New Zealand’s joint non-negotiables for the shoot. To give you an idea, we’ve restricted the size of the cast and crew to just six people – including our celebrity talent, who is well known for their environmental commitment. Usually a crew of around 40 would be involved in a safety video shoot. Staff from Scott Base provided logistical support and stepped in as supporting talent, and the film crew were careful to not pack any superfluous kit or props.
Having seen an early cut of the video I believe it will give more people than ever reason to reflect on the importance of science research in Antarctica and the role they can play to minimise their own impacts on our environment.