A321
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Multiengine
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe
General Maintenance Action; General Work Refused
Aircraft; Procedure; MEL; Human Factors
Aircraft had MEL; flight deck door keypad inop.Procedure is too deactivate the system.[Procedure is that the] Captain briefs the First Officer and Flight Attendant that the automatic unlock function of the flight deck door is inoperative and the door will have to be opened manually.Since I'm not aware of how the Flight Attendant can open the door manually; I contacted dispatch and Maintenance Control on a conference call and asked Maintenance Control how to open the door manually from the cabin. He advised me there is not a procedure to do this.My concern was if the FO (First Officer) and myself would become incapacitated; the Flight Attendant would have no method of entering the cockpit. This would lead to total loss of aircraft. I advise dispatch it would need to be repaired or to find us another aircraft.
A321 Captain reported refusing the aircraft with the flight deck door lock keypad inoperative because there were no provision to manually open the door from the cabin.