Date: 202105
Local time of day: 1201-1800
Location: ZZZ.Airport, US
Aircraft: A319
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Parked
Aircraft component: Air Conditioning Distribution System
Component problem: Malfunctioning
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Captain; Pilot Flying
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument
Human factors: Physiological - Other; Communication Breakdown; Fatigue
Anomaly: Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Maintenance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness / Injury; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: Routine Inspection; Pre-flight
Result: General Maintenance Action; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed; General Physical Injury / Incapacitation
Contributing factors: Aircraft; Human Factors; Procedure
Primary problem: Procedure

Narrative: We checked in at ZZZ for flight to ZZZ1.  Walking onto aircraft to preflight and get ready the FA's (flight attendants) commented that they smelled a strong fume odor in the rear of the cabin.  The prior crew had left the APU running and that was providing the air to the cabin.  We were not immediately sure what it was but the longer we were inside the aircraft the more it seemed to smell all over the aircraft.  One flight attendant soon commented that she had been in a fume smell diversion and that she felt it now smelled exactly like what she had experienced before. As I was contacting Dispatch and Maintenance Control; the ZZZ station without our knowledge or consent had sprayed the entire aft cabin with some kind of disinfectant spray to cover up the smell and had begun to board passengers.  When I was made aware of this I radioed them to stop spraying the aircraft; halt the boarding; and remove the passengers that were onboard.  Maintenance Control had called a contract Maintenance Tech to investigate the odor.  Meanwhile; we had shutdown the APU and connected the ground air. When the Maintenance Tech arrived; he had a bunch of paperwork for items to check; and mentioned that he was going to inspect the APU.  He did not seem to know what to check or how to check it.  Ultimately he handed me the pile of papers and ask us to run the engines.  In an effort to help we did so.  We could not specifically determine the source of the smell; but it seemed stronger with the APU providing air.  We were unable to isolate the source and could not fly the aircraft or do a maintenance ferry flight. Afterward; Maintenance Control then informed us that the residual contamination in the air ducts would have to be cleaned and tested with special equipment; and that they would have to send a road crew down from ZZZ to perform those functions.  So Maintenance Control knew from the start that this type of contamination issue required special procedures and equipment to deal with and withheld that critical information unnecessarily exposing us to who knows what kind of long term health hazards instead of just informing of this up front. After we officially could not use the airplane; it was around XA:30pm.  We were assigned to fly another aircraft for the flight now departing at XG:15pm.  We then spent the next few hours trying to get a day room so we could get a meal and away from the airport before the later flight.  Each time were verbally told we had a room from Crew Tracking; Hotel Desk; etc.; we called the hotel and were told there were no such rooms available for us.  After wasting a considerable amount of time on this effort we were finally given rooms and arrived at the hotel just after XF:00pm. I walked down the highway from the hotel to find something to eat after having nothing for several hours.  Finally sitting down to eat a sandwich; I realized that I had a dull headache from trying to determine if the fumes were no longer present in the aircraft when isolating certain ducts for Maintenance Control.  It dawned on me that I was fatigued and I reported this to Crew Tracking. The cause was Maintenance; fume smells; lack of timely day room. [Captain suggested] better communications with Maintenance and Dispatch.




Synopsis: A319 Captain reported a fume event during pre-flight that resulted in reporting fatigued due to physiological symptoms.