Getting stuck at the airport and ending up throwing a big party with all the passengers

The most fun summer night Charlie Pee remembers seemed, at first, doomed to disaster. She and a group of friends had taken the last flight of the day from Barcelona to Mallorca to start their vacation, but a breakdown put an end to their plans. “They changed the plane for another that had fewer seats and we were left out,” she explains. Result: she, two of her friends, and about twenty other people were left behind while most of the group of friends landed calmly in Mallorca.

Since there were no more flights that night, they were told they would be rebooked on flights the next morning. They were given a bus and a hotel, and those affected created an improvised WhatsApp group to manage claims. The group's name? Boarding Group 99, which was the number that appeared on the new plane tickets. What was supposed to be a frustrating night then turned into an improvised party with about twenty strangers.

“We started having beers at the airport while we waited for the bus and suddenly it was like going on a trip with lifelong friends,” she recalls. “There were Catalans, foreigners, and people who hadn't even been on that flight, but who ended up joining the group because the atmosphere was very good. Some ended up going to Sutton, others got involved with each other,” she recalls.

The situation had a surreal touch that made it fun. She, who lives in Barcelona, ended up sleeping in a hotel ten minutes from her home. Meanwhile, her friends were already in Mallorca. “We were having a much better time,” she assures. The story went viral among her followers because she kept posting stories and people were asking for updates on Boarding Group 99. “I uploaded a video of us all walking together and someone wrote to me saying: ‘The woman behind you is my aunt!’”

For days, once everyone was settled in Mallorca, that impromptu group remained active. “What are you doing? We miss you,” they kept writing to each other. Little by little, the group faded away, but Charlie Pee will always remember Boarding Group 99.

And while that night was special because of the unexpected company, the comedian says she also greatly values solitary summer nights, far from everything. That's why, whenever she can, she seeks out remote and cold places to disconnect in the summer. She spent a month in Greenland without a phone or outlets and there she experienced some of the happiest nights of her life. “I have a lot of nostalgia for life without mobile phones,” she explains. For her, the secret to a great summer night is precisely this: absolute carefree. “That you don't have to think about delivering anything, or publishing anything, or looking at any screen,” she concludes.