Rotorua students and their whanau were caught up in the drama when their Cathay Pacific flight lurched to a halt moments before taking off.
But the Rotorua Intermediate group, made up of "amazing kids and awesome whanau" were not alarmed by the last minute pull back, "taking the incident in their stride".
Flight CX198 was scheduled to leave Auckland Airport for Hong Kong at 1.30pm on Saturday, but the pilot aborted the take off at the last minute.
After the flight was aborted, passengers were returned to the terminal and Rotorua Intermediate students were eventually able to board an Emirates flight, going through Dubai.
Rotorua Intermediate deputy principal Heather Nahu said they had received regular updates from one of the tour leaders.