"For more extensive farewell, please use the parking lot" is requested of travelers, relatives, and friends on the sign with the message "Max cuddle time 3 minutes" at the top.
Reactions to the new signs at the airport in Dunedin on the country's southern island have come quickly. They were put up last month.
We have been accused of violating fundamental human rights and received questions about what kind of people we are, trying to set a limit on how long you can cuddle, says airport manager Dan De Bono.
He says that others have thought it was right and describes the move as an alternative to warning about parking fines or getting the tires clamped – something that otherwise could have become a sour aftertaste to a pleasant cuddle.
The time limit is a friendlier way of telling people "Ok, that's enough, time to move on", says De Bono.
He thinks a 20-second hug is good enough to trigger hormones that make you feel good. More than that is just weird.
What happens then to those who cuddle for too long in the wrong place?
We won't have any clampdown, says the airport manager.
