British Airways’ Cayman service has been plunged into fresh disruption less than a day after passengers endured a 28-hour delay, with both Cayman legs cancelled on Friday before the Boeing 777 intended for the route departed Nassau for Heathrow - only to turn back more than an hour into the flight.

The latest disruption affected the airline’s London–Nassau–Grand Cayman operation on Friday, August 21, and involved Boeing 777 G-VIIV.

The Nassau-to-Grand Cayman flight was scheduled to depart at 15:30 and arrive at Owen Roberts International Airport at 16:10. It was cancelled.

The corresponding Grand Cayman-to-Nassau service, scheduled to leave at 18:05 and arrive in the Bahamas at 20:40 before passengers continued towards London, was also cancelled.

The reason for the Cayman cancellations has not been confirmed.

But the aircraft did not remain on the ground for the night.

Later on Friday, G-VIIV departed Nassau for London Heathrow as BA252, despite the Cayman sectors having been cancelled earlier in the day.

Flight-tracking data shows the 777 leaving Nassau at 22:40, around 35 minutes after its scheduled 22:05 departure.

It climbed normally to 39,000ft and headed towards London, establishing itself in the cruise before, just over an hour into the flight, reversing course and heading back towards Nassau.

The reason for the turnback has not been confirmed.

Flight-tracking data showed no emergency transponder code, while the aircraft did not make an immediate descent as it turned around.

The flight profile does not appear consistent with a sudden loss of cabin pressurisation, which would ordinarily require an immediate descent to a safer altitude. It does not, however, rule out other technical or operational issues.

British Airways was asked to explain the reason for the Cayman cancellations, why the aircraft was subsequently operated towards Heathrow and what caused it to return to Nassau.

Cayman flights cancelled, aircraft sent to London

The sequence is likely to raise questions among Cayman passengers about what happened during the airline’s operation on Friday.

G-VIIV had been scheduled to operate from Nassau to Grand Cayman, and the subsequent return journey from Cayman through Nassau to Heathrow.

Yet hours later, G-VIIV was used for the Nassau-to-Heathrow sector.

That flight then failed to reach London and returned towards the Bahamas.

Without an explanation from British Airways, the circumstances surrounding the two events remain unclear.

A friend of a passenger affected by Friday’s cancellation, speaking to The Caymanian Journal (TCJ) on condition of anonymity, said problems on the route had already changed the way they travelled to Britain.

“We had a friend that was meant to be on it leaving Cayman. It has been a very troublesome route the last few years. I go home to the UK once a year and we haven't flown BA for years because of all the issues.”

Another Cayman resident, Morven Bodden, responding publicly to the disruption on social media, said:

“The sooner [we] get direct flights the better.”

Less than a day after a 28-hour delay

Friday’s disruption came less than 24 hours after passengers on the same Cayman route emerged from another major delay involving a different British Airways Boeing 777.

That incident involved G-VIIJ.

The aircraft had arrived in Nassau from Heathrow but suffered tyre damage before it could continue to Grand Cayman, forcing the cancellation of its onward Cayman flight.

Passengers were accommodated overnight and the aircraft eventually reached Grand Cayman at about 8.40pm the following day - approximately 28.5 hours after its original scheduled arrival.

The return journey from Grand Cayman through Nassau to London was also pushed into the following day.

There is no suggestion that the tyre damage involving G-VIIJ and Friday’s problems involving G-VIIV were connected. They involved separate aircraft and should be treated as separate incidents.

The proximity of the disruptions, however, means Cayman passengers have faced two significant interruptions to the British Airways service in quick succession.

Route hit repeatedly

The latest problems also come weeks after another serious disruption left Cayman passengers stranded in Nassau.

In July, passengers travelling from Grand Cayman to London faced a delay of more than 34 hours after the Nassau-to-Heathrow sector was cancelled.

The cause of that cancellation was not publicly confirmed. A Nassau airport source told TCJ at the time that it was not caused by an aircraft technical fault.

British Airways operates its Cayman service between Heathrow and Grand Cayman via Nassau. The stop in the Bahamas means disruption affecting one part of the rotation can have consequences for passengers travelling on other sectors.

Friday’s events present a particularly unusual sequence.

What caused the Cayman cancellations and what subsequently forced the London-bound aircraft to return remain unanswered.

British Airways has been approached by TCJ for comment and further details.

This story will be updated should more information become available.