Sculptures of two giant eagles from the “Lord of the Rings” films will be removed from New Zealand's Wellington Airport this month after looming over travelers for 12 years

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – For more than a decade, passengers at New Zealand ’s Wellington Airport have boarded flights below the figures of two giant, hovering eagles from the Hobbit films, one bearing a bellowing wizard Gandalf.

With 50-foot (15-meter) wingspans and weighing 2,600 pounds (1.1 ton) each, the sculptures that hover in the terminal have delighted tourists and scared children since 2013. Their tenure was eventful — one became unmoored from its fixings during a severe earthquake in 2016, and plummeted onto the terminal floor below. No one was hurt.