Embrace it, but do it quickly. The New Zealand airport sets a deadline for farewells

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Emotional farewells are a common sight at airports, but travelers leaving the New Zealand city of Dunedin need to act quickly. A new three-minute time limit for goodbye hugs in the airport drop-off area aims to prevent lingering hugs from causing congestion.

“Maximum hug time three minutes,” signs outside the terminal warn, noting that those who want to say a “more intimate goodbye” should go to the airport parking lot instead.

The cozy hat was introduced in September to “ensure smooth operations” in the redesigned passenger drop-off area outside the airport, CEO Dan De Bono told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The airport wanted to remind people that the zone is only intended for “quick farewells”.

The signs polarized social media users, said De Bono.

“We have been accused of violating basic human rights and how dare we limit the length of a hug,” he said, adding that others had welcomed the change.

The signs were intended as an alternative to signs at other airports that warned of wheel clamps or fines for drivers parking in drop-off areas. Some in the UK have charged fees for all dues – no matter how short.

Dunedin Airport – a modest terminal serving a city of 135,000 people on New Zealand’s South Island – preferred a “quirky” approach, De Bono said.

Three minutes is “enough time to stop, say goodbye to your loved ones and move on,” he said. “The time limit is really a nicer way of saying: Keep going.”

A 20-second hug is long enough to release the health-promoting hormones oxytocin and serotonin, De Bono said. Anything longer was “really awkward.”

However, passengers need not worry unduly about enforcement. “We don’t have hug police,” De Bono said.

However, visitors may be asked to move their longer hugs to the parking lot, where they can cuddle for free for up to 15 minutes.