‘Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world,’ Hugh Grant famously offered in the heartwarming opening scene of Love, Actually, ‘I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport.’ It’s just as well he doesn’t think about Dunedin airport in New Zealand. The airport’s chief executive, Daniel De Bono, seems not to be a fan of lingering emotion-packed arrivals and departures taking place at his modest transport hub.
While other airport chiefs look for new ways to limit their terminals’ designated smoking areas or swoop on blameless travellers with too many toiletries, De Bono is cracking down on lingering hugs at his terminal here in New Zealand.
Announcing his airport’s recently redesigned drop-off area, De Bono said the airport has imposed a three-minute limit on all farewell embraces.
Max hug time three minutes,’ the airport’s new sign reads. ‘For fonder farewells please use the car park’
‘Max hug time three minutes,’ the airport’s new kerbside sign reads.
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