Airports and emotional farewells go hand-in-hand, but one hub in New Zealand is cracking down on public displays of affection.
Travellers leaving the New Zealand city of Dunedin have been told there’s now a three-minute time limit on goodbye hugs in the airport's drop-off area, intended to prevent lingering cuddles from causing traffic jams.
Outside the terminal, signs read: “Max hug time three minutes,” adding that those seeking “fonder farewells” should head to the airport’s car park instead, where they’ll be given a generous 15 minutes to say goodbye to their loved ones.
Despite some criticism on social media, with people calling the move “inhumane”, the airport’s CEO is standing by his decision.
“We were accused of breaching basic human rights and how dare we limit how long someone can have a hug for," Dan De Bono told the Associated Press news agency, adding that others had welcomed the change.
De Bono explained that the restriction was put in place to “keep things moving smoothly” and is the airport’s way of reminding people that the zone was for “quick farewells” only.
Adding that moving passengers along quickly allows more people to get more hugs, he also cryptically told Radio New Zealand (RNZ) that "our team have seen interesting things go on... over the years".
The anti-hug signs are meant as a gentler alternative to those at other airports warning of wheel clamping or fines for drivers parked in drop-off areas.
At some hubs in the UK, there are imposed fees for all drop-offs - however brief.
Dunedin's airport, though, a modest terminal serving a city of 135,000 people on New Zealand's South Island, prefers a “quirky” approach, De Bono said.
Three minutes was "plenty of time to pull up, say farewell to your loved ones and move on,” he added. “The time limit is really a nicer way of saying, you know, get on with it.”
A 20-second hug is long enough to release the wellbeing-boosting hormones oxytocin and serotonin, De Bono said. Anything longer was “really awkward.”
Despite the sweeping changes, the CEO assured passengers that they don’t need to worry unduly about enforcement: “We do not have hug police”.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s media has been bemused by the worldwide attention the airport is attracting.
On Tuesday, Rova radio station published an article poking fun at news anchors mispronouncing the word ‘Dunedin’.
Their journalist referred to the fact that one presenter called it ‘Dun-din airport’ when, in fact, it’s pronounced more like “Dun-ee-den”.
“Early this morning the anchor… bless her, covered the virality of the sign, but had a bit of a hard time pronouncing the city's name,” a Rova reporter wrote, bringing even more attention to the unusual situation at the transport hub.
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Saying goodbye to a loved one just got more difficult at a small New Zealand airport. The Dunedin Airport in the country’s southern end recently posted an advisory sign warning travelers not to hug for more than three minutes in the departure zone. «Max hug time 3 minutes. For fonder farewells please use the car park,» the sign reads in the drop-off zone area. The airport updated their drop-off policy in September 2024, in an effort to prevent traffic jams caused by lingering cars. «We wanted to have a bit of fun with this,» Dunedin Airport CEO Daniel De Bono shared in an interview with a local radio station. «It's really about enabling enough space for others to have hugs.” The airport says that three minutes for a hug is plenty of time, and that a 20-second hug is the average length. The somewhat joking, but serious looking sign, has caused a social media conversation with travelers sounding off on the new advisory. »How much is the fine if I hug longer??" one person shared on Reddit, with another person just commenting «Bruh.»
We all know the sadness of dropping our loved ones off at the airport, especially if it's the last time you'll be seeing them for a while. But for travelers at Dunedin Airport, hugs during those heartfelt goodbyes could now be cut short.
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