A sign at Dunedin Airport has stirred up an international audience over whether its “inhumane” or too generous.
The sign, which reads “Max hug time 3 minutes – for fonder farewells please use the car park,” was shared by Facebook user Julie on the popular ‘The View From My Window’ page.
Since then, the post has blown up, racking up close to 50k reactions and hundreds of comments.
Naturally, the internet had feelings with some thinking putting a timer on hugs is unfair.
“You can’t put a time limit on hugs! 🤗 that’s inhumane 😑,” said one wound-up commenter.
“This is insane,” another added. “Now they are putting rules around farewells? Is nothing sacred?😜😉”
“There's no limit to my love...oh wait never mind 🤣,” a third joked.
On the other hand, some thought the rule made sense to avoid the always dreaded airport congestion.
One user wrote: “3 mins is a long time for a hug, I feel like that’s a reasonable request.”
“I'm considering utilising this as a measure of how I feel about someone moving forward,” said another. “Now, is this person for the regular drop-off? Have they moved yet to the 'fond farewell' stage? 😂😍.”
The idea isn’t entirely new in New Zealand. Canterbury schools already have ‘Kiss-and-Go’ zones for speedy drop-offs.
Now, some are suggesting the airport sign should pop up in more places around the country.
“OMG school drop-off lines need a similar sign (Max hug time 10 sec)😉,” suggested one commenter.
“We need this sign up in Auckland too 👀,” added another.
Even international travelers are chiming in, envious of the extra hug time, saying we don’t know how lucky we have it.
“You get 3 minutes to hug??😮 In America, they don’t even want you to stop,” one commenter explained. “Just come to a slow roll and push your passenger out. 😅 I’m serious.”
“That’s way too long,” someone from the UK said. “In Heathrow, it’s got to be 15-seconds MAX!!!”
Another chimed in: “£5 for 5 mins to drop off at Manchester airport. £6.90 for up to 7 minutes no Fs or change given.”
Looks like Dunedin Airport has it pretty sweet after all - especially when it comes to saying see ya with a little extra time for a squeeze.
