Celebrating 30 years at Wellington Airport - Steve Rybinski

Huge congratulations to Steve Rybinski on his 30th anniversary at Wellington Airport! We asked him about his time here:

“This place has changed massively over the years. When I started it was basically a rattly, cold scary tin shed.

“There weren’t many shops and no computers. We had to switch everything on manually and lock up by hand.

“It was freezing cold, basically a demolition site, so it’s improved out of sight since then. I remember how good it was seeing for the first time the big new windows and sun streaming in.

“I started at the ground level and worked my way up over the years to be a Duty Manager now.

“My role is kind of like the landlord of the place, making sure everything works and is functioning the way it should. Things like managing queues and making sure the runway is in good condition.

“My most memorable moment was saving a guys life here in the terminal. He collapsed and basically died, but we worked on for him an hour using the defibrillator before he was taken to hospital.

“Later on I rung the hospital for an update and they actually put me through to him to speak.”