At this airport you are allowed to hug each other for a maximum of three minutes when you say goodbye!

Dunedin - At the airport in Dunedin, New Zealand, you are allowed to hug your loved ones for a maximum of three minutes before departure.

No joke: Dunedin Airport has even put up a sign in the arrivals area to make this rule clear to all travelers.

The "maximum hugging time" specified there is three minutes. All those who want to say goodbye for longer are asked to do so in the parking garage.

In an interview with the New Zealand radio station RNZ, the airport's managing director, Daniel De Bono, explained his interesting reasons for the farewell limit.

According to De Bono, the aim of the sign is not to tell passengers that they are not allowed to exchange affection when saying goodbye, but rather to encourage people to move on to check-in more quickly. This would mean less congestion in the area and even more people would have time and space to hug each other before departure.

When asked why his airport has set the limit at three minutes, the CEO even argued scientifically: according to a study he had read, just 20 seconds in each other's arms is enough to release oxytocin - the hormone for security.

However, if you are caught hugging for longer than three minutes despite the sign, the "hug police" will not come straight away, De Bono smiled. In this case, you will simply be "kindly asked" to go in the direction of baggage drop-off.