Amongst a whole lot of local whinging about how the locals lives are being adversely affected by the FIFA 2010 World Cup Soccer tournament coming to South Africa, let us not lose sight of the benefits: one is the seriously upgraded facilities and infrastructure that will remain with us in the future. And whilst is is frustrating as a local to drive on these roads that seem permanently under construction, with the World Cup round the corner, things are finally coming together. There are new roads, Gautrains, BRT lanes, new stadiums and more. And then there are the airports.

I was recently on a flight from Cape Town to KMIA and experienced the new (vastly) improved Cape Town departures lounge. And wow! After a long time experiencing the temporary marquees attached to the terminal buildings, it was a very pleasant surprise to drive up an impressive ramp to the stylish new international and local departures hall. It is SO first world. One could easily mistake it for arriving at Chicago International Airport for example. and it is really good looking from the outside too with a sexy curvy roof and all. And remember the dread of parking at the airport? Those days are gone. Up the ramp is the easiest and most spacious drop-off zone one can imagine, plus the multi-level covered parkades have thousands of spaces, so no more hoping desperately and doing endless loops looking for that one spot that often didn’t exist!

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It all makes so much sense: to have all departures and check-ins in one place. Why not? It is very first world and looks the part too. With literally hundreds of check-in counters, there is a load of space for all flights to check in simultaneously. We breezed through our check-in in 5 minutes, the security was good, the staff at each check point were friendly and efficient. What a pleasure. There are various restaurant options now, all with views. Rather than just the Spur!! And don’t get me wrong I love the Spur, but it had pride of place for plane spotting and no competition. So now you have options and views.

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Oh and speaking of airports and getting there… don’t forget these guys: the legendary Athlone Power Station twin cooling towers. An ugly yet very sentimental landmark for all Capetonians for the last many years, used to describe the route into Town from the airport. “Ja, you just go past the towers and carry on towards the mountain…” They are old and crumbling, with pieces of concrete falling off into the N2 freeway lately. They have been earmarked for implosion sometime soon, so I snapped a couple of pics to remember them. So next time you drive by, enjoy the view, it might be the last time you see them. An official date has not been set but it will be soon. Watch this soon to be space! And send us pics if your timing is good.