New Zealand airport bans three-minute hugs
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The reading
A long goodbye hug at an airport in New Zealand could land you in trouble. The international airport in Dunedin has set a three-minute limit on the time people can spend hugging each other at the drop-off zone. An airport official said the limit is so traffic can keep flowing. He said there has recently been a problem of traffic jams near the departures building. The official said too many people were taking too long in the drop-off zone in front of the building. The airport now has warning signs that say: "Max hug time 3 minutes. For fonder farewells, please use the car park." People who spend longer than three minutes saying their goodbyes could get a penalty. They could get a fine or get their wheels clamped.
The airport's new hugging policy is not popular with everybody. CEO Daniel De Bono told local reporters that he has received many complaints. He said: "We were accused of breaching basic human rights." He added that another person said: "How dare we limit how long someone can have a hug." Someone on the airport's Facebook page called the policy "inhumane". Mr De Bono defended the hug posters. He said: "Three minutes is plenty of time to pull up, say farewell to your loved ones and move on. The time limit is really a nicer way of saying get on with it." He added that airports were "hotbeds of emotion" and that anything longer than a 20-second hug was "really awkward".
Sources:
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/21/new-zealand-dunedin-aiport-hug-sign-cap-3-minute
- https://apnews.com/article/new-zealand-airport-goodbye-hugs-time-limit-d6176082ffb6ab66e8d2f05dd590b8aa
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13981771/Sign-New-Zealand-airport-hugging.html
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