A319
Flight Attendant Current
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
When we [were] leaving [the departure airport] and performing demo; we smelt a faint odor of dirty socks. It quickly disappeared once we started pushback. During the flight we did not smell any weird odors. When we were landing; wheels went down; and immediately we all three smelt a very strong dirty sock odor. I immediately grabbed a coffee pack and stayed as low to the floor as possible so as to not breathe in many chemicals. Once we performed our door duties; I called the captain to inform him I would be opening the doors to get air in the cabin. All 3 of us went to urgent care on recommendation of the fire department that met the plane. Mechanicals also did find an oil leak in the APU. They MEL'd it and had another crew work our next flight.
During push back; we smelled a faint odor of dirty socks around row 8. It was not too strong so we continued on. The flight proceeded without incident. At final approach; a VERY strong 'dirty sock' odor filled the cabin. The smell was even stronger as I came to the back galley after doing my final cabin check. The 'C' FA and I covered our mouths and noses with coffee bags and paper towels. The fumes were very nauseating. I then called the 'A' FA to inform her of our situation. Before I could utter a single word; she said 'you guys smell it too?' I told her that we think it's a fumes event. She said she would call the flight deck.We got to the gate; did our disarming procedures; and the passengers started to deplane. The C FA called up front and got the ok from the captain to open 2R so we could seek fresh air. We waited for all the passengers to leave and then exited the aircraft as soon as possible. Before we left; there were 3 maintenance guys that came to the back galley. As soon as they were back there; one said out loud. 'Oh yeah. I smell the oil.' We gathered our belongings and left the aircraft. We sat behind the gate area as the [cabin manager]; pilots; and gate personnel talked to us. About 1 ½ hours later the maintenance guy came out and verbally confirmed with us that yes we were in a fumes event. They had found that the APU was definitely leaking oil and that it transferred into the cabin. He then told us that they are going to MEL the APU. So that the aircraft could fly again. We told the [cabin manager] that we were very foggy and not feeling well and we would like to be looked at. The paramedics came to check us out and recommended that we should go to urgent care. The [cabin manager] put us in a [cab] and we went to the urgent care. The urgent care took 2 1/2 hours to get us in. We then got checked out and they drew blood to test for carbon monoxide poisoning. We left; went to the hotel and deadheaded home the next morning.
A319 flight attendants reported a dirty sock odor and fumes in the cabin. After block in the cabin crew reported exposure to a fume event and went to an urgent care facility. Maintenance inspection discovered an oil leak.