Officials at New Zealand's Dunedin International Airport are "surprised how much global interest" a time-limit on curbside farewell embraces has garnered.

Travelers leaving the New Zealand city of Dunedin will have to keep their emotional farewells brief after a new three-minute time limit was imposed on goodbye hugs in the airport’s drop-off area in order to prevent lingering cuddles from causing traffic jams.

I’m not a big hugger. Twenty seconds tops for me,” joked the airport chief as he demonstrated a hug for his staff. Longer embraces can be had away from the drop-off zone.

"Max hug time 3 minutes," a sign at the airport's drop-off area reads. "For fonder farewells please use the car park," which has a far more generous 15-minute time limit. spotted at new zealand’s dunedin airport dunedin airport car park: nsfw pic.twitter.com/TKFVIxfds4

But back on the ground, one airport in New Zealand is implementing a maximum time just three minutes for loved ones to say goodbye to their relatives with a hug. “It’s hard to say goodbye so make it quick.

Dunedin Airport CEO Daniel De Bono weighed in on the topic in an interview with New Zealand's RNZ radio. Describing airports as "hotbeds of emotion," he pointed to a study suggesting a 20-second hug is enough to get a burst of the "love hormone" oxytocin and argued that moving customers along quickly allows more people to get more hugs.

Heathrow Airport has announced an “unlimited” hug time in its terminals amid a debate on the introduction of cuddle caps at airport drop-off zones. The new signage depicting two people hugging in departures reads: “Max hug time,

Dunedin Airport in New Zealand has captured global attention with a unique policy – a three-minute limit on goodbye hugs in its drop-off zone. This quirky rule has ignited a worldwide conversation about the delicate balance between efficiency and emotion in public spaces.

An airport has imposed a three-minute limit on farewell hugs in its drop-off area in order to avoid traffic jams. At Dunedin Airport in New Zealand, a sign has been erected which reads “maximum hug time three minutes,