A British Airways pilot was told to “join the party” by the captain of another aircraft during a ground delay that lasted hours yesterday before the halting of the UK-bound service.

The outbound leg of the flight was cancelled owing to a technical fault, travellers were told.

Shortly after arriving at LF Wade International Airport, the pilot of British Airways 159 from London Heathrow was informed by air traffic control operators of the ground stop — a measure enforced when conditions such as weather affect operations at the airport.

The BA pilot was told that the measure was put in place hours earlier — since about 1.30pm — as lightning and thunderstorms affected operations.

The air traffic controller informed the pilot that she was unsure of when the measure would be lifted, according to an audio recording on FlightAware.

“Join the party,” another pilot radioed over the airwaves, to which the BA pilot responded: “Wasn’t the party we were looking to join.”

The outbound trip of the BA flight, which was set to depart at 7.45pm on Sunday, was subsequently cancelled, according the airline’s website said, leading to more woes.

While no reason was provided for the cancellation on BA’s website, a Bermuda resident noted under a Facebook post that the delay was attributed to a technical fault inside the aircraft.

Separately, another resident who had a family member on the aircraft said that at about 6.40pm on Sunday, passengers were informed that the flight was delayed owing to lightning.

They were then advised about a technical issue and were later told the flight was expected to depart at 9.45pm.

At about 11.50pm, the passengers were told the flight was cancelled since a part needed to be brought into the island to fix the problem.

The cancellation left many passengers stranded as they were told that they were not allowed to stay in the airport overnight, the resident said.

It was noted that many visitors had no alternative accommodation and a shortage of taxis compounded the issue.

Skyport has been asked for comment.

Over the weekend, the Bermuda Weather Service warned of a “summer rumble” as thunderheads built from columns of warm, humid air.

Rumbles persisted on Saturday and yesterday, fuelled by a phenomenon locally known as Morgan’s Cloud.

As warm, steamy air over Bermuda rises, pulling in more humid air from the surroundings, the convection drives it into the atmosphere to create a band of heavy cloud over the island.

The weather conditions also affected operations for other carriers including BermudAir, United Airlines, Air Canada and JetBlue.