by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:30 PM ET, Wed August 24, 2016
Two Air New Zealand employees have been suspended as the airline investigates the release of offensive photos and a video depicting a captain with a blowup sex doll aboard a plane and a flight attendant spitting in the cabin with the caption "wish I could spit on passengers like this."
According to the New Zealand Herald, the pictures and videos appear to be between one-and-four years old, but their recent release to mainstream media in the country has led to backlash against Air New Zealand.
While two current employees seen in the video and pictures have been suspended, the third person involved no longer works for the airline. The damning evidence was shared on Facebook and Instagram after staff members shared them originally on Snapchat.
A spokesperson for Air New Zealand said the company was "shocked and appalled" by the incident. The airline has launched an official investigation into the video and images.
Stuff shared the video on its website, and Yahoo New Zealand revealed one of the images on Twitter:
"We expect the highest standards of behavior and respect from all our staff. These images were brought to our attention in the past 48 hours and an investigation commenced immediately," Air New Zealand said in a statement.
"One of the staff members concerned no longer works for Air New Zealand and the other two have been removed from duties pending the outcome of our investigation. It goes without saying that this is a situation we are treating with extreme seriousness - and our obvious concern is that the behavior displayed is a clear breach of not just our code of conduct but basic decency."
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