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 a baggage 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.



"Watched while sitting on the tarmac on AirAsia before flying to KL on the 24th May," the description says.



"This should have gone to a charity or something first being being chewed up!!"



The video was also posted on Dutch site Dumpert, where users joked they would never travel with Air New Zealand again.



"The explanation is really simple ... these bags just didn't fit in the plane!" one comment reads.

However, although the airport used an Air New Zealand trolley, the incident had nothing to do with the airline.



Christchurch Airport said the claims made by people on the website were ridiculous.



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.