Travellers flying out of the New Zealand city of Dunedin airport have been told there’s now a three-minute time limit on goodbye hugs in the airport’s drop-off area in a move intended to prevent lingering cuddles from causing traffic jams.

Outside the terminal, signs read: “Max hug time three minutes,” adding that those seeking “fonder farewells” should head to the airport’s car park instead, where they’ll be given a generous 15 minutes to say goodbye to their loved ones.

Despite some criticism on social media, with people calling the move “inhumane”, the airport’s CEO is standing by his decision.

De Bono explained that the restriction was put in place to “keep things moving smoothly” and is the airport’s way of reminding people that the zone was for “quick farewells” only.  

Adding that moving passengers along quickly allows more people to get more hugs, he also cryptically told Radio New Zealand (RNZ) that “our team have seen interesting things go on… over the years”.

The anti-hug signs are meant as a gentler alternative to those at other airports warning of wheel clamping or fines for drivers parked in drop-off areas.

At some hubs in the UK, there are imposed fees for all drop-offs – however brief.

Dunedin’s airport, though, a modest terminal serving a city of 135,000 people on New Zealand’s South Island, prefers a “quirky” approach, De Bono said.

Three minutes was “plenty of time to pull up, say farewell to your loved ones and move on,” he added. “The time limit is really a nicer way of saying, you know, get on with it.”

A 20-second hug is long enough to release the wellbeing-boosting hormones oxytocin and serotonin, De Bono said. Anything longer was “really awkward.”

Despite the sweeping changes, the CEO assured passengers that they don’t need to worry unduly about enforcement: “We do not have hug police”.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s media has been bemused by the worldwide attention the airport is attracting.

On Tuesday, Rova radio station published an article poking fun at news anchors mispronouncing the word ‘Dunedin’.

Their journalist referred to the fact that one presenter called it ‘Dun-din airport’ when, in fact, it’s pronounced more like “Dun-ee-den”.

“Early this morning the anchor… bless her, covered the virality of the sign, but had a bit of a hard time pronouncing the city’s name,” a Rova reporter wrote, bringing even more attention to the unusual situation at the transport hub.