Dunedin airport CEO Dan De Bono said the new rule aimed to prevent prolonged hugs leading to traffic jams at the province’s transport hub.
A sign recently placed in the airport area allows farewell hugs of up to three minutes. It recommends those who want a longer goodbye to head to the airport car park instead. According to De Bono, the restriction polarised social media users.
We were accused of breaching basic human rights and how dare we limit how long someone can have a hug for.
This restriction is intended to replace measures used at other airports that warn of wheel clamping or fines for drivers parked in drop-off zones. Some UK airports charge for any drop-off, even short ones.
Three minutes was “plenty of time to pull up, say farewell to your loved ones and move on,” De Bono added.
The time limit is really a nicer way of saying, you know, get on with it.
However, the new time limit will not be strictly enforced, except that people will be told to move to the car park as the country does not have “hug police.”
