A man who lost his father in the Erebus tragedy, says he is "genuinely angry" at Air New Zealand over the release today of its new Antarctica-themed safety video.
Entourage star Adrian Grenier stars alongside Scott Base scientists and support staff in the video, which spotlights the critical importance of Antarctica in understanding the impacts of a warming world.
Simon Holtham's father was one of the 257 people on board Air New Zealand Flight 901 who died when the sightseeing flight crashed into Mount Erebus in Antarctica on 28 November 1979.
In January, Mr Holtham criticised the planned release of the video and Air New Zealand's lack of consultation with families of the Erebus victims.
"I'm in a plane watching a video of Antarctica when a family member or a friend or in my case my Dad died on an Air New Zealand plane where this video is filmed. And to me it shows a sad lack of awareness," he told 1 NEWS then.
The video, due for release in March, is being filmed in Antarctica where the plane crash happened almost 40-years-ago.
"An email would have been nice, or a conversation in the public domain, whether it's newspapers or social media to say, 'hey we're thinking of doing this video what do you think?'"
Today Mr Holtham says he's "genuinely angry" at the airline.
"Air New Zealand has not been in touch with me at all, despite my name being featured on 1 NEWS," he said.
"Why could they not contact me? It’s pathetic, sad, lazy, and offensive," he said.
Family of another victim of the crash say the filming location was "very disrespectful".
Nicholas Bennett, whose father died in the accident, told NZ Herald it was not "appropriate at all, no matter how they spin it".
Air New Zealand had emailed families of the victims, saying it had "approached filming in a very respectful way".
Director Kevin Denholm, says there were lots of challenges filming in the elements of Antarctica.
"We are very conscious that Antarctica is of great significance to the families of those lost in the Mt Erebus tragedy and contacted family representatives to advise of the decision to film and the rationale behind this."
"The family members will be sent the safety video when it is completed prior to its public release," he said in a statement.
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