A319 first officer reported being notified by the cabin crew of 'strong odor' in the passenger cabin...

Narrative:

After arriving at our destination gate; the flight attendants advised us of a strong odor / fumes in the back of the aircraft. The captain and I independently verified the presence of the odor and the captain offered to request medical assistance; which the flight attendants declined. The captain then entered odor/fumes into the aml and completed the aircraft smoke; odor and fumes report. Maintenance believed the fumes were coming from the APU and asked us to do an external air start (no APU) to help confirm this; which we complied with in accordance with fom procedures. The captain also consulted with the duty pilot to ensure legality of performing the engine (troubleshooting). Station ops came onboard the aircraft just prior to engine start and sprayed a very strong air freshener in the cabin - even though I specifically asked them not to do that. The external air start was unsuccessful due to insufficient air pressure. Additionally; the overwhelming smell of air freshener made it impossible to determine whether fumes would be present and we decided the safest course of action was to exit the aircraft and not continue with additional engine starts attempts.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A319 First Officer reported being notified by the cabin crew of 'strong odor' in the passenger cabin upon arrival at destination. Maintenance requested.

Narrative: After arriving at our destination gate; the flight attendants advised us of a strong odor / fumes in the back of the aircraft. The Captain and I independently verified the presence of the odor and the Captain offered to request medical assistance; which the flight attendants declined. The Captain then entered odor/fumes into the AML and completed the Aircraft Smoke; Odor and Fumes Report. Maintenance believed the fumes were coming from the APU and asked us to do an external air start (no APU) to help confirm this; which we complied with in accordance with FOM procedures. The Captain also consulted with the Duty Pilot to ensure legality of performing the engine (troubleshooting). Station Ops came onboard the aircraft just prior to engine start and sprayed a very strong air freshener in the cabin - even though I specifically asked them not to do that. The external air start was unsuccessful due to insufficient air pressure. Additionally; the overwhelming smell of air freshener made it impossible to determine whether fumes would be present and we decided the safest course of action was to exit the aircraft and not continue with additional engine starts attempts.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1716130
Time
Date	201912
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZZ.Airport
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A319
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying First Officer
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Total 3
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness

A319 first officer reported being notified by the cabin crew of 'strong odor' in the passenger cabin upon arrival at destination. Maintenance requested.