Dunedin Airport made international headlines by introducing a bizarre rule for its landing zone: capping “hug time” at three minutes.
The signs, which have gone viral on social media, specify “the maximum hug time of 3 minutes” at New Zealand’s airport and encourage those looking for a “more affectionate farewell” to use the car park.
Speaking to RNZ earlier this month, Dunedin Airport general manager Dan De Bono said the signs were being used because airport management was trying to “have fun” and Avoid “intense” messages threatening people with fines or other sanctions in the event of traffic congestion.
“It’s made a lot of noise, we have a lot of discussions going on,” De Bono said.
“It’s really about leaving enough space for others to have hugs.”
The story made international news, with CNN, the New York Post and the Times of India all reporting on the restricted time for hugs between travelers and their loved ones.
Some social media users criticized the policy, with one saying airport management would “stop telling people what to do” and another calling the rule “inhumane.”
However, many airports in Australia and New Zealand have similar rules, including Sydney Airport and Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport, both of which specify that cars dropping off passengers do not stop for more than a minute.
Speaking to RNZ, De Bono said despite many jokes on social media suggesting otherwise, there were no penalties for passengers who exceeded the hug limit.
“All our team does is politely ask them to move to the parking lot to create space for others. It’s nothing more, we’re not going to call the ‘hug police’ .”
