Lost luggage

We've done a bit of travelling, but by the grace of God, we've never been faced with the dilemma of lost luggage. But Christchurch Airport has some explaining to do - Stuff reports:

So that's what happened to the luggage - it's off to the dump. Kind of.

A video showing baggage handlers at Christchurch Airport tossing bag after bag into a rubbish truck this week has created a stir.

The clip, posted on YouTube on Tuesday, shows piles of luggage being loaded into a dump truck from an Air New Zealand trolley on the tarmac.

The footage claims the "unclaimed baggage" was being destroyed and has attracted thousands of views and comments from distraught flyers since it was uploaded.

Viewed for the first time, it certainly makes you wonder what's going on - check this out:

The Christchurch Airport wallahs have gone into damage control mode, claiming that there is an innocent explanation - read on:

Communications manager Monique Oomen said the bags had been part of a trial of the new baggage handling system installed at the facility.

"We asked locals to donate any old luggage they no longer wanted, and to fill it with old books or newspaper," Oomen said.

"This luggage was then tagged and used to test the system over a period of weeks. At the end, we decided the bags were not good enough for charity and that they had to go out."

Oomen said the video had upset the baggage handlers and the airport wanted to get the word out about the truth behind the video.

Air New Zealand said though the airport was using one of its trollies, the incident had nothing to do with the airline.

We'll give Christchurch Airport the benefit of the doubt, although anyone who has lost luggage there recently will probably not be so charitable. But between this, and the fiasco over the Wellywood sign, it hasn't been a good week for airports!