Hugging your loved ones goodbye could land you in trouble at a New Zealand airport should your embrace linger too long.
The international airport in Dunedin has introduced a three-minute cap on cuddles, as part of a broader effort to improve safety and keep traffic flowing at its drop-off zone.
A sign erected in the airport’s drop-off zone warns: “Max hug time 3 minutes. For fonder farewells please use the car park.”
Photo: Reuters
Dunedin Airport chief executive Dan de Bono told national broadcaster Radio New Zealand that warning messages at airport drop-off zones can be “quite intense” and include threats to clamp wheels or impose fines — something the airport wanted to avoid.
“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 RNZ, adding that too many people were taking too long in the drop-off zone.
“There’s no space left for others,” he said. “It’s about enabling others to have hugs.”
Sometimes, travelers were using the drop-off zone to engage in last-minute amorous acts, De Bono said.
“Airports are hotbeds of emotion ... our staff have seen some interesting things over the years,” he said.
De Bono said the new signage has “caused quite a stir.”
Critics on a Facebook post that has had tens of thousands of views and comments have told the airport they cannot dictate how long one is allowed to hug, with one commentator describing the rule as “inhumane.”
Others have praised the airport for its friendly approach, at a time when airports around the world are introducing drop-off fees.
The airport would not have a special unit of hug police enforcing the rule, De Bono said, but staff might politely ask lingerers to move to the car park.
“We’re not here to tell people how long they should hug for, it’s more the message of please move on and provide space for others,” he said.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is constructing a new counter-stealth radar system on a disputed reef in the South China Sea that would significantly expand its surveillance capabilities in the region, satellite imagery suggests. Analysis by London-based think tank Chatham House suggests China is upgrading its outpost on Triton Island (Jhongjian Island, 中建島) on the southwest corner of the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), building what might be a launching point for an anti-ship missile battery and sophisticated radar system. “By constraining the US ability to operate stealth aircraft, and threaten stealth aircraft, these capabilities in the South China Sea send
HAVANA: Repeated blackouts have left residents of the Cuban capital concerned about food, water supply and the nation’s future, but so far, there have been few protests Maria Elena Cardenas, 76, lives in a municipal shelter on Amargura Street in Havana’s colonial old town. The building has an elegant past, but for the last few days Maria has been cooking with sticks she had found on the street. “You know, we Cubans manage the best we can,” she said. She lives in the shelter because her home collapsed, a regular occurrence in the poorest, oldest parts of the beautiful city. Cuba’s government has spent the last days attempting to get the island’s national grid functioning after repeated island-wide blackouts. Without power, sleep becomes difficult in the heat, food
Botswana is this week holding a presidential election energized by a campaign by one previous head-of-state to unseat his handpicked successor whose first term has seen rising discontent amid a downturn in the diamond-dependent economy. The charismatic Ian Khama dramatically returned from self-exile six weeks ago determined to undo what he has called a “mistake” in handing over in 2018 to Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who seeks re-election tomorrow. While he cannot run as president again having served two terms, Khama has worked his influence and standing to support the opposition in the southern African country of 2.6 million people. “The return of
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected a plan for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Kyiv due to Guterres’ attendance at this week’s BRICS summit in Russia, a Ukrainian official said on Friday. Kyiv was enraged by Guterres’ appearance at the event in the city of Kazan on Thursday and his handshake with its host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres, who called for a “just peace” in Ukraine at the BRICS event and has repeatedly condemned the invasion, discussed a visit to Ukraine with Zelenskiy when they met in New York