Viral video of man smuggling himself in suitcase deemed fake by Aussie airline

MELBOURNE - A viral video showing an American vlogger smuggling himself from Melbourne to Sydney in a suitcase has been dismissed as a fake by Australian airline Tigerair on Friday, after the video amassed almost half a million views in just three days.

Vlogger Adam Saleh posted a video to YouTube on Tuesday, alleging that he checked himself in - literally - on a Tigerair flight from Melbourne to Sydney.

The video shows friends helping Saleh into a large suitcase, before taking him in a taxi to Melbourne Airport and loading him onto the automated bag drop conveyor belt.

But on Friday, Tigerair wrote an open letter to Saleh pointing out a number of inconsistencies and ultimately discounting his video as a hoax.

"Firstly, you wouldn't have been accepted by our automated bag drop machines at 66 kilograms as a friendly staff member would have stepped in to assist," Tigerair said.

"Secondly, some aircraft have heated baggage holds but the aircraft you were on does not and it gets pretty cold at 36,000 feet so by the time you arrived in Sydney you would have been a popsicle.

"Thirdly, we have footage of you boarding the aircraft using your legs."

The airline also moved quickly to reassure its customers that, as the video was fake, no customers or staff were at risk at any time.

"The safety and well-being of our staff and customers is always our number one priority and was not compromised at any time," a spokesperson told Sun Online.

"Tigerair Australia has a zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior and has investigated this matter as a priority. We can confirm that the footage is not genuine and we have requested that the footage be removed as a consequence."