So there’s a pretty good chance that this summer’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will be the hottest mess to ever take to a pommel horse, sailboat, or high dive. Brazil’s politics are in shambles, its economy in the hole, its Olympics-ready infrastructure already falling apart. Last week, soldiers killed a jaguar—the games' mascot—at an official torch ceremony. The threat of Zika looms over everything. If you're headed to Rio anyway, there is some good news: The airport is getting a little better, or at least easier to escape.

Brazilian officials estimate 1.5 million people will ignore the mess and descend upon Rio Galeão-Tom Jobim International Airport for the two-week sporting event, from August 5 to 21. That's worrisome when you consider the airport usually handles 12.2 million passengers in an entire year, and that Brazil's Department of Aviation recently named it one of the three worst airports in the country, based on slow Wi-Fi, long wait times, and a limited snack selection.

So as part of the country's nearly $1 trillion effort to spiff up the city's infrastructure (counting private and public dollars), airport authorities have poured $600 million over the past two years into making it just a little easier to get a bite, get a drink, and get around. In 2014, Changi Airport Group—the folks who run Singapore's fantastical Changi Airport—took over management of Galeão. Their improvements include 100 new shops, more parking, and 43,000 square feet in additional lounge space, but don't expect butterfly gardens and movie theaters in Rio. This operation is more facelift than reconstructive surgery, with a focus on rethinking and retooling Galeão's digital infrastructure.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

When visitors deplane, they'll be greeted by a high-capacity wireless network, provided by the American company HPE Aruba. There's no time limit and no fee—a perk available at too few international airports, especially for tourists whose data plans don't work overseas. There's potential benefit for the airport, too. "Usually the passengers just like to pass through the airport," says Alexandre Villeroy, who heads up IT for Galeão. He hopes Wi-Fi might get tourists and business travelers to stick around, doling out cash money at all those new shops along the way.

For visitors who didn't fly to Brazil for the duty free goodies, HPE Aruba offers turn-by-turn navigation within the airport, enabled by a network of 3,000 beacons spread throughout the terminals (a first for Latin America). Once visitors download the airport’s new app, they can use it to find that taste-of-home Starbucks Frapp they’ve been craving, or their connecting gate, or their way to the taxi stand. The app will also send push notifications to travelers’ phones, keeping them updated on which security lines are shortest and whether their flight's delayed.

And while it's annoying to download yet another app, Galeão hopes this one is just useful enough to stay on your phone, at least until your flight home. If the Brazilian airport can keep passengers engaged with its services, it can learn more about what they want out of a seamless travel experience—and then, of course, get them to spend money on it.

Enjoy the easier trip, prospective Rio Olympic heroes. At least, until you step outside the airport and into the real world.