Narrative:

The aircraft came in with a pressurization problem and was removed from service. We left that gate to go to another where they had brought up an MD80 that had been sitting on the pad. This plane had been sitting closed up for an [indefinite] time. I brought out my thermometer which is used for oven calibration. It is enclosed in a glass tube so that nothing can influence the temperature and only the actual heat is determined. It was at 95-100 degrees at row 7. I informed the captain that it was unsafe to board the aircraft until it cooled down as I had no catering at all (aircraft was stripped) and should anyone react to the heat in a negative way; I could do nothing to cool them down or even offer water or ice packs. The captain agreed but was being pressured by the agent to board as he was doing the cockpit checks. There were many things going on up there with fuel being mis-loaded into tanks and also the battery was not responding to checks. There was also a mechanic in the cockpit by then. We opened the vents as we could and still it was not cooling down. There was no outside cool air being placed on to the plane. While the captain was still in the cockpit; the agent again asked him could they board and I protested as the temperature was barely down to 95 degrees. I again protested as I still didn't have the catering and I also knew the temperature would climb back up with the body heat of the people. But the captain decided to go on and board. The agent (young man) said to the captain 'I'm glad you overrode her; as we need to get this out.' the captain did tell him he understood my concerns but we would go on and board. The temperature was now around 90-92 degrees. I photoed the gauge and when I did that it was back up to 95 degrees with only first class boarded. The plane filled up and we sat there. There was a problem still with the battery. We sat for 25 minutes with people sweating. I finally got my catering and called for more ice as the ice from sitting in the catering truck all this time had melted down to 1/3 amt. The crew in the back had no air and it was stifling back there. Those people sat for 25 minutes in excessive heat. When I took the thermometer down off row 7 it was back up to about 97+ on the indicator. I was completely wet with sweat and felt dizzy and light headed. This plane was eventually taken out of service and again; the people had to transfer to another gate; wait for plane; and wait again for catering to be transferred. This was beyond the healthy conditions for crew and passengers. I could not have offered any water; cold cloths; or ice had someone fainted due to heat.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD80 Flight Attendant describes high cabin temperatures during boarding and delays due to other mechanical issues which cannot be corrected. The passengers are asked to deplane and switch to another aircraft. Cabin temperatures were in the mid nineties during most of the time passengers were on board.

Narrative: The aircraft came in with a pressurization problem and was removed from service. We left that gate to go to another where they had brought up an MD80 that had been sitting on the pad. This plane had been sitting closed up for an [indefinite] time. I brought out my thermometer which is used for oven calibration. It is enclosed in a glass tube so that nothing can influence the temperature and only the actual heat is determined. It was at 95-100 degrees at row 7. I informed the Captain that it was unsafe to board the aircraft until it cooled down as I had no catering at all (aircraft was stripped) and should anyone react to the heat in a negative way; I could do nothing to cool them down or even offer water or ice packs. The Captain agreed but was being pressured by the agent to board as he was doing the cockpit checks. There were many things going on up there with fuel being mis-loaded into tanks and also the battery was not responding to checks. There was also a mechanic in the cockpit by then. We opened the vents as we could and still it was not cooling down. There was no outside cool air being placed on to the plane. While the Captain was still in the cockpit; the agent again asked him could they board and I protested as the temperature was barely down to 95 degrees. I again protested as I still didn't have the catering and I also knew the temperature would climb back up with the body heat of the people. But the Captain decided to go on and board. The agent (young man) said to the Captain 'I'm glad you overrode her; as we need to get this out.' The Captain did tell him he understood my concerns but we would go on and board. The temperature was now around 90-92 degrees. I photoed the gauge and when I did that it was back up to 95 degrees with only First Class boarded. The plane filled up and we sat there. There was a problem still with the battery. We sat for 25 minutes with people sweating. I finally got my catering and called for more ice as the ice from sitting in the catering truck all this time had melted down to 1/3 amt. The crew in the back had no air and it was stifling back there. Those people sat for 25 minutes in excessive heat. When I took the thermometer down off row 7 it was back up to about 97+ on the indicator. I was completely wet with sweat and felt dizzy and light headed. This plane was eventually taken out of service and again; the people had to transfer to another gate; wait for plane; and wait again for catering to be transferred. This was beyond the healthy conditions for crew and passengers. I could not have offered any water; cold cloths; or ice had someone fainted due to heat.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.