Page 5 - IAV Digital Magazine #605

Catch Flights, Not Feelings
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Dunedin Airport in New Zealand has sparked debate around the world with its new sign imposing a three- minute limit on hugs in its drop-off zone, adding “for fonder farewells please use the car park.”
Some com- menters on
a Facebook
post that went viral are outraged at a curfew on cuddles, while oth-
ers marvel at an airport still having a free drop-off area at all, given the general rise in fees and fines.
Dunedin Airport CEO Daniel De Bono weighed in on the topic in an interview with New Zealand’s RNZ ra dio. Describing airports as “hotbeds of emo- tion,” he pointed to a study sug- gesting a 20-sec- ond hug is enough
to get a burst of the “love hor- mone” oxytocin and argued that moving customers along quickly allows more peo- ple to get more hugs.
Dunedin Airport’s parking lot, where De Bono admits “our team have seen interesting things go on ... over the years,” allows a 15- minute visit for free.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine