Why this New Zealand airport’s controversial ‘hug limit’ is actually clever

New Zealand’s Dunedin Airport is trying an interesting tactic to solve the age-old problem of traffic congestion at drop-off points: A three-minute “hug limit.” The internet is calling it inhumane, but when it comes to airport signage, it’s actually kinda sweet.

The “hug limit” is laid out in blue signage around drop-off zones with messages like “Max hug time 3 minutes; For fonder farewells please use the car park” and “It’s hard to say goodbye so make it quick; 3 minutes max.” The quippy requests are accompanied by simple graphics like a cartoon hand waving and two stick figures in an embrace.

On a now-viral Facebook post of the signage, some commenters are expressing outrage at the concept of a hug limit. One user declared it “inhumane.” Another went so far as to muse, “Corporations need to be reminded that this is our world and not theirs. They don’t own us or it.” In an interview with the Associated Press, Dunedin Airport CEO Dan De Bono said that the facility had been “accused of breaching basic human rights.”

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A post shared by Dunedin Airport (@dunedinairport)

The naysayers seem to be forgetting that airport signage at drop-off points is pretty universal—and it’s typically quite a bit less forgiving than Dunedin’s new designs.

At Heathrow Airport, dawdling is discouraged with a sign featuring a big red “X” accompanied by the terse message, “No waiting.” Sydney Airport boasts a bright red sign spelling out all of the prohibited behaviors in the drop-off zone in all caps: “NO UNATTENDED VEHICLES, NO DELIVERIES, NO PASSENGER PICK-UPS, NO STOPPING. FINES APPLY.” The warning is solidified by an image of a vehicle getting towed. The sign additionally gives cars a one-minute limit to get in and out. (Anyone who’s ever been dropped off at an airport is likely familiar with the harrowing experience of being shouted at by an attendant to vacate their spot while trying to wrangle their suitcases.)

Dunedin’s new signs seem like a much more human-focused, compassionate way of laying out the airport’s timing expectations—by measuring them in hug duration rather than spelling out the consequences of failing to leave your loved one at the curb quickly enough. Design-wise, Dunedin’s signs are rendered in comparatively calming colors and font choices that act as a friendly nudge rather than an overt shove.

De Bono told the AP that the signs were indeed meant to be a “quirky” alternative to the usually blunt approach. For those who are still worried about strict enforcement at the New Zealand airport, though, he was sure to clarify: “We do not have hug police.”