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

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

Skyport said that passengers were escorted to collect their luggage and those able to leave the airport did so.

Those who elected to remain in the terminal were provided refreshments, blankets and pillows.

Shortly after arriving at LF Wade International Airport, the pilot of British Airways 158 from London Heathrow was informed by air traffic control operators of the ground stop — a measure enforced when conditions such as weather affect airport operations.

The BA pilot was told that the measure was put in place at about 1.30pm because of as lightning and thunderstorms.

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

“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 called off, according to the airline’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 advised of a technical issue and told the flight was expected to depart at 9.45pm.

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

Skyport said ground handling operations at the airport were disrupted by the bad weather throughout the weekend.

In accordance with standard procedures and global aviation safety practices to protect ground handling personnel from potential lightning strikes, temporary ground stops came into in effect on Saturday and Sunday.

The resulting suspension of ground activities, including fuelling, aircraft marshalling and baggage handling, led to flight disruptions that trickled over into Monday.

On Saturday, the BA flight normally scheduled to depart for London at 8.05pm was delayed, ultimately departing at 10.53pm.

Flights affected the subsequent day included Air Canada AC1818, which arrived late from Toronto at 4pm rather than the scheduled 12.40pm. It was delayed by a ground stop and departed at 7.44pm.

JetBlue B6 2032, scheduled to depart for New York JFK at 3.25pm, was unable to depart after the ground stop was lifted as the flight crew had timed out. It was rescheduled to depart the next day.

United Airlines flight UA2392 departed for Newark at 8.10pm rather than its scheduled 2.50pm; and American Airlines AA2044, which arrived from Charlotte at 3.18pm and was scheduled to depart at 3.54pm, was held up until 7.49pm.

Over the weekend, the Bermuda Weather Service warned of scattered thunderheads building from hot, humid conditions.