Airports around the world resonate with the sounds of final and temporary goodbyes, last-minute embraces and stolen kisses. Some airports even give this drop off area a fitting name – the ‘Kiss & Fly’ zone. With Valentine’s Day coming up, KAYAK.sg compared airports globally to see just how long – in free minutes – this final hurrah can last, before security shows up to move things along. Vital information for lovers – but very practical information for all travellers. Any goodbye kiss before take off is too short, and some airports are more romantic than others.
The research revealed Hong Kong International, Tokyo International Haneda and Palma de Mallorca as the most romantic airports abroad, with a generous 30 minutes of free parking permitted. Rome’s Fiumicino airport encourages 15 minutes of dedicated quality time in its aptly name ‘Kiss & Go’ zone. Joining Rome in the 15 minute bracket are Dubai International, Phuket International, Prague Václav Havel and Copenhagen Kastrup, helping the latter city maintain its status as one of the happiest cities on earth.
Paris may be the city of love, but travellers at Charles de Gaulle need to keep that amorous goodbye to a concise 10 minutes in the drop off zone. In major American airports such as New York’s JFK, San Francisco International, and Los Angeles International, goodbyes are a mere formality, with barely enough time for departees to disembark their vehicle before it is promptly ushered from the ‘Kiss & Fly’ zone.
Closer to home, free parking time in ‘Kiss & Fly’ zones varies greatly between airports. As the largest airports in China and some of the busiest worldwide, Beijing Capital International and Hong Kong International airports ensure those loving moments together linger, with a generous 30 minutes of potentially awkward free parking time. Denpasar Ngurah Rai airport on the other hand, keeps love on the down-low, and vehicles in motion, with zero free minutes. Shenzhen Bao’an International and Guangzhou Baiyun International airports come in at a more reasonable 15 minutes, while Singapore Changi restricts free time to 10 minutes.
Here at KAYAK we like to look at travel from every angle. Love may be in the air, but it’s also on the ground, particularly in airport drop off zones. We love to help you plan and manage your travel better, and in this case, we’ve used our insight to assist with planning airport drop offs while also providing a few tips on squeezing a little more romance out of your next farewell.
Main image credit: ©IB photo/shutterstock.com
