Narrative:

Arrived in jetway for our 1st flight of the day; inbound flight attendants notify us the PA system is not working and they had asked maintenance to have it fixed. Our captain soon tells us it will not be fixed and we will work it anyway. The [flight attendant (flight attendant)] a was the 1st to express she did not feel comfortable working with an in-operative PA system. The captain asked the 3 of us if we felt like it was a safety issue and we all said adamantly yes. We all expressed it could be a serious safety concern for us and the passengers. We asked if it could be fixed; we were told no; we asked if there was another plane we could take and the captain said no; that it would take 2 hours to get another one. With passengers on board we began to test the system. 1 out of 7 times; we vaguely heard the captain; when it worked somewhat; on a scale of 1 to 10; 10 the loudest; the volume was approximately a 1. We were told per pilot manual to use the megaphones. We tested the megaphone and they did not work. While testing to passengers the majority shook their heads no they couldn't understand us. As I listened; it was inaudible. Against our better judgment; we felt forced to work on that plane. Several passengers spoke to me asking why we would fly this plane and expressed safety concerns. I passed this to the captain to no avail. After working 1 flight; we could see what a problem it was; it became very turbulent on descent; unsafe to get out of our seatbelts; unable to be notified from pilots of turbulence. We were almost landing; so I got up to go to the front; getting knocked around; yelling at passengers descent instructions. Half heard; we landed with an unsecured cabin. Upon landing; a flight attendant supervisor in told us; 'you have no choice'. An assistant base manager came also telling us to work the flight and use our 'loud voice'. We tried to express our concerns. I shared my last 2 recent incidents. I shared how many situations that are not in the manual can occur and that in those two incidents the PA working was imperative. I asked supervisors and the captain to be proactive to avoid a possible serious situation; also adding; with the recent incidents why would we add to passengers fears that were already being expressed by our customers on our flight and once again told no.along with the continuing problems of no PA; during drink service I turn around to go serve drinks and a very big lady is stumbling; very pale; comes to the back; she passes out and falls hard on the floor and hits her head on the galley. I try to break her fall and protect her head the best I could. She is unconscious. [Flight attendant] a is pinned between the lady and the galley door. Normally; I would be able to access her and grab the interphone to call for help but it wasn't working! Valuable time to help her; paging for a medical person; notify captain/medlink and the flight attendant up front; passed because of our lack of being able to communicate. We took time to check her breathing and possible bleeding; move her head so that airflow was not blocked. I stood up and rang the passenger call button 5 to 6 times to get the attention of the flight attendant upfront; I could not hear the chimes as I hit the button and neither could the flight attendant up front. [Flight attendant] a yelled at a passenger to go get the flight attendant upfront. He and [flight attendant] a yelled for a doctor or nurse; who by the way were in the front of the aircraft. I go to the front to monitor the clear zone but soon see [flight attendant] a waving at me to help; so I leave the clear zone and get a deadheading pilot seated in the back to stand up front so I can be the go between the back situation and the cockpit. After landing; the captain tells me; as he is pointing to the instruments; that he also had communication problems with dispatch and medlink; he said he lost his connections with them both a couple of times.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 Flight Attendant reported difficulties and challenges operating a flight with the PA and cabin-cockpit intercom inoperative.

Narrative: Arrived in jetway for our 1st flight of the day; inbound flight attendants notify us the PA system is not working and they had asked Maintenance to have it fixed. Our Captain soon tells us it will not be fixed and we will work it anyway. The [Flight Attendant (FA)] A was the 1st to express she did not feel comfortable working with an in-operative PA system. The Captain asked the 3 of us if we felt like it was a safety issue and we all said adamantly yes. We all expressed it could be a serious safety concern for us and the passengers. We asked if it could be fixed; we were told no; we asked if there was another plane we could take and the Captain said no; that it would take 2 hours to get another one. With passengers on board we began to test the system. 1 out of 7 times; we vaguely heard the Captain; when it worked somewhat; on a scale of 1 to 10; 10 the loudest; the volume was approximately a 1. We were told per pilot manual to use the megaphones. We tested the megaphone and they did not work. While testing to passengers the majority shook their heads no they couldn't understand us. As I listened; it was inaudible. Against our better judgment; we felt forced to work on that plane. Several passengers spoke to me asking why we would fly this plane and expressed safety concerns. I passed this to the Captain to no avail. After working 1 flight; we could see what a problem it was; it became very turbulent on descent; unsafe to get out of our seatbelts; unable to be notified from pilots of turbulence. We were almost landing; so I got up to go to the front; getting knocked around; yelling at passengers descent instructions. Half heard; we landed with an unsecured cabin. Upon landing; a FA Supervisor in told us; 'you have no choice'. An Assistant Base Manager came also telling us to work the flight and use our 'loud voice'. We tried to express our concerns. I shared my last 2 recent incidents. I shared how many situations that are not in the manual can occur and that in those two incidents the PA working was imperative. I asked supervisors and the Captain to be proactive to avoid a possible serious situation; also adding; with the recent incidents why would we add to passengers fears that were already being expressed by our customers on our flight and once again told no.Along with the continuing problems of no PA; during drink service I turn around to go serve drinks and a very big lady is stumbling; very pale; comes to the back; she passes out and falls hard on the floor and hits her head on the galley. I try to break her fall and protect her head the best I could. She is unconscious. [FA] A is pinned between the lady and the galley door. Normally; I would be able to access her and grab the interphone to call for help but it wasn't working! Valuable time to help her; paging for a medical person; notify Captain/Medlink and the FA up front; passed because of our lack of being able to communicate. We took time to check her breathing and possible bleeding; move her head so that airflow was not blocked. I stood up and rang the passenger call button 5 to 6 times to get the attention of the FA upfront; I could not hear the chimes as I hit the button and neither could the FA up front. [FA] A yelled at a passenger to go get the FA upfront. He and [FA] A yelled for a doctor or nurse; who by the way were in the front of the aircraft. I go to the front to monitor the clear zone but soon see [FA] A waving at me to help; so I leave the clear zone and get a deadheading pilot seated in the back to stand up front so I can be the go between the back situation and the cockpit. After landing; the Captain tells me; as he is pointing to the instruments; that he also had communication problems with Dispatch and Medlink; he said he lost his connections with them both a couple of times.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.