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Journalism of Courage
Airports are often synonymous with goodbyes and farewells, featuring prominently in movies like The Terminal and Love at First Sight. Now, hugging your loved ones at the Dunedin Airport in New Zealand for more than three minutes can land you in trouble.
A sign at the airport’s drop-off zone reads “Max hug time 3 minutes. For fonder farewells please use the car park”.
See here:
https://twitter.com/sonkodero/status/1848150567656526121
The rule was imposed in September and intends to ensure the smooth flow of passengers through and to prevent congestion.
Dunedin Airport CEO Daniel De Bono, in an interview with Radio New Zealand, said it will allow more people to experience these brief but meaningful goodbyes. “Airports are hotbeds of emotion … our staff have seen some interesting things over the years. We’re trying to have fun with it. It is an airport and those drop off locations are common locations for farewells,” De Bono told Radio New Zealand.
“There’s no space left for others. It’s about enabling others to have hugs,” he added.
A Facebook post on the same has sparked a debate among social media users. While a section tagged it as “inhumane”, others hailed the move as many airports don’t allow passengers to hug or kiss before saying goodbye to their loved ones. “You get 3 minutes to hug?? In America, they don’t even want you to stop. Just come to a slow roll and push your passenger out,” a user wrote. “You can’t put a time limit on hugs! that’s inhumane,” another user commented.
“OMG school drop off lines need a similar sign (Max hug time 10 sec),” a third user reacted. “That’s generous. A hug only takes 10 seconds,” another user wrote.
