A youtube video ostensibly showing unclaimed baggage being
destroyed has been refuted as laughable by Christchurch Airport CEO
Jim Boult.
"This is an example of how things on youtube can be utterly
misleading through being taken out of context. These bags were old
unwanted bags donated for our baggage handling trials before our
new terminal opened," he explained.
In 2010, Christchurch Airport went on radio and contacted local
schools and clubs to ask for 600 unwanted bags that would be used
in months of rigorous testing of its new baggage handling
system. People were asked to fill the bags with newspapers,
old books and unwanted clothing. They were clearly told the bags
would not be returned.
"At the end of the trials, these bags were, to use a
Christchurch term, munted," said Jim Boult. "They were torn or
stained or had faulty catches - some had completely fallen
apart. They were not bags anyone else would want. We
did try to see if they could be re-used by another airport doing
bag trials, but it was going to be too expensive to ship them
overseas. So, to reiterate, this footage is NOT of airport staff
destroying lost or unclaimed bags. It shows the disposal of old
unwanted bags people were happy to donate to the airport, knowing
they would never be returned."
For Jim Boult there's a clear lesson in how the footage has been
presented: "It underscores the need to take youtube not just with a
grain of salt, but a bushel of salt - and to know that what you see
changes when you know the truth, and have the accurate
context."
