diff --git a/code/AssetLib/Collada/ColladaLoader.cpp b/code/AssetLib/Collada/ColladaLoader.cpp
index 2574fd2ea..6d7085b35 100644
--- a/code/AssetLib/Collada/ColladaLoader.cpp
+++ b/code/AssetLib/Collada/ColladaLoader.cpp
@@ -625,16 +625,14 @@ aiMesh *ColladaLoader::CreateMesh(const ColladaParser &pParser, const Mesh *pSrc
     }
 
     // same for texture coords, as many as we have
-    // empty slots are not allowed, need to pack and adjust UV indexes accordingly
-    for (size_t a = 0, real = 0; a < AI_MAX_NUMBER_OF_TEXTURECOORDS; ++a) {
+    for (size_t a = 0; a < AI_MAX_NUMBER_OF_TEXTURECOORDS; ++a) {
         if (pSrcMesh->mTexCoords[a].size() >= pStartVertex + numVertices) {
-            dstMesh->mTextureCoords[real] = new aiVector3D[numVertices];
+            dstMesh->mTextureCoords[a] = new aiVector3D[numVertices];
             for (size_t b = 0; b < numVertices; ++b) {
-                dstMesh->mTextureCoords[real][b] = pSrcMesh->mTexCoords[a][pStartVertex + b];
+                dstMesh->mTextureCoords[a][b] = pSrcMesh->mTexCoords[a][pStartVertex + b];
             }
 
-            dstMesh->mNumUVComponents[real] = pSrcMesh->mNumUVComponents[a];
-            ++real;
+            dstMesh->mNumUVComponents[a] = pSrcMesh->mNumUVComponents[a];
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/code/PostProcessing/ValidateDataStructure.cpp b/code/PostProcessing/ValidateDataStructure.cpp
index 1dd5d436a..8441b48be 100644
--- a/code/PostProcessing/ValidateDataStructure.cpp
+++ b/code/PostProcessing/ValidateDataStructure.cpp
@@ -371,20 +371,7 @@ void ValidateDSProcess::Validate(const aiMesh *pMesh) {
         ReportWarning("There are unreferenced vertices");
     }
 
-    // texture channel 2 may not be set if channel 1 is zero ...
-    {
-        unsigned int i = 0;
-        for (; i < AI_MAX_NUMBER_OF_TEXTURECOORDS; ++i) {
-            if (!pMesh->HasTextureCoords(i)) break;
-        }
-        for (; i < AI_MAX_NUMBER_OF_TEXTURECOORDS; ++i)
-            if (pMesh->HasTextureCoords(i)) {
-                ReportError("Texture coordinate channel %i exists "
-                            "although the previous channel was nullptr.",
-                        i);
-            }
-    }
-    // the same for the vertex colors
+    // vertex color channel 2 may not be set if channel 1 is zero ...
     {
         unsigned int i = 0;
         for (; i < AI_MAX_NUMBER_OF_COLOR_SETS; ++i) {
diff --git a/include/assimp/mesh.h b/include/assimp/mesh.h
index ed9a8faf9..da81cc24c 100644
--- a/include/assimp/mesh.h
+++ b/include/assimp/mesh.h
@@ -729,8 +729,9 @@ struct aiMesh {
     /**
      * @brief Vertex texture coordinates, also known as UV channels.
      * 
-     * A mesh may contain 0 to AI_MAX_NUMBER_OF_TEXTURECOORDS per
-     * vertex. nullptr if not present. The array is mNumVertices in size.
+     * A mesh may contain 0 to AI_MAX_NUMBER_OF_TEXTURECOORDS channels per
+     * vertex. Used and unused (nullptr) channels may go in any order.
+     * The array is mNumVertices in size.
      */
     C_STRUCT aiVector3D *mTextureCoords[AI_MAX_NUMBER_OF_TEXTURECOORDS];
 
@@ -950,8 +951,10 @@ struct aiMesh {
     //! @return the number of stored uv-channels.
     unsigned int GetNumUVChannels() const {
         unsigned int n(0);
-        while (n < AI_MAX_NUMBER_OF_TEXTURECOORDS && mTextureCoords[n]) {
-            ++n;
+        for (unsigned i = 0; i < AI_MAX_NUMBER_OF_TEXTURECOORDS; i++) {
+            if (mTextureCoords[i]) {
+                ++n;
+            }
         }
 
         return n;