An airport in New Zealand has banned prolonged goodbye hugs at drop-off – with last embraces restricted to just three minutes. The sign at Dunedin Airport reads “max hug time 3 minutes” and suggests, “for fonder farewells please use the car park”. A picture of the message shared on Facebook to ‘The view from my window’ group last Wednesday sparked great debate on appropriate farewell etiquette at departures.
One group member commented: “I love it. It shows warmth and compassion. My local airport it would be ‘you can’t stop there’ - there’s a £100 fine if you stop and a minimum £5.
00 to drop someone off in the drop-off zone. I love Nice airport - they have ‘Kiss and Fly’.” Another said the time limit was “inhumane” and insisted “You can’t put a time limit on hugs” “In America, they don’t even want you to stop.
Just come to a slow roll and push your passenger out,” added a social media user from the US. The thought of a three-minute hug had others reeling. “This got me thinking.
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Who are the people I would hug for 3 minutes? There are a very few, mostly family, and a dear long-time friend. But in spite of the humor of this sign, it’s something to think about. Life is short,” shared one man.
More than a third of major UK airports have raised drop-off fees for drivers in the past year, according to RAC research. In July, the RAC found that seven out of 20 airports analysed have raised so-called “kiss and fly” charges –.
