It is hard to imagine that there really are things to love about any airport. The lineups, the security checks, the interminable waits. Things are different at the Regina, Saskatchewan, airport.
I clearly arrived much earlier than necessary. There was NO wait at the security check-in (which is not always a good idea because the agents then have way too much time to pry through everything, but that wasn't the case this time).
Once I was inside the "departure lounge" it was still two hours before my flight was to leave.
There was almost no one else there (a couple off to the right who were sleeping). It looks to me as if the authorities have completely redone the departure area. It is huge and clean, possibly in anticipation of the hordes of fans who will be coming through here in November for Grey Cup (the CFL championship football game), and possibly as well to prepare for the continued growth in the area with the booming oil patch south of Regina.
The two things I love here are
- Free wifi. Okay, okay, there is no such thing as "free" wifi. Call it "no charge" wifi. It is a public service provided by Access, a major cable company in the area. It works, and it is easy to connect to.
- Look at that picture above. See all those white/silver/blue-ish things under every fourth seat? those our power outlets! Yea! Whoever redesigned the airport knows that people who travel are frequently looking for places to plug in their laptops and smartphones. Here is another photo that shows them
Meanwhile I took a seat in an easy chair off in an alcove:
That's my laptop. See that black patch on the lid, under the apple? That's velcro (the soft loop part). I attach an external hard drive for backups to it whenever I am settled. I came up with this idea so that when I stand up or put my laptop aside, I don't end up slamming the hard drive onto the floor, which was happening far too often before.