Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Attendant Current
Troubleshooting; Confusion
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Maintenance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Company Policy; Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors; MEL; Procedure
I was [the] Purser on Aircraft X. When we boarded I noticed the entire phone was missing from XLR Jumpseat. The cockpit also informed me it was missing and that it was okay to go. I said that used to be a 'no go' item. I have no way of notifying the cockpit if there was any emergency- be it evacuation; a threat level; a medical emergency; etc. I asked if there was another plane that we could take. I notified the system that we were checking within maintenance on an issue before we board. We still had 15 minutes left to board. I was told that I was to refer to the Flight Attendant Manual regarding other means of communicating. I'm not sure if you've worn a mask and spoken through a megaphone; but that's not really a reliable means of communication with a mask on. And it still does not allow me to communicate with the cockpit. We were on a type X aircraft where the other FAs are backwards facing and would not know if a situation were to arise up front. We were also advised that it was to be a bumpy flight and we might need to remain seated for the duration of the flight. An in-flight Supervisor met the aircraft. Captain said he would refuse the aircraft if I was uncomfortable. I said that decision should not solely rely on me. However; this was the second flight in a row where the forward intercom was broken. This one happened to be completely missing a phone. The one prior was hanging off a screw. A Mechanic also came up during boarding to see what the problem was. I said this should be a 'no go' item referring to the missing phone. He said he deferred it that morning and that the part was awaiting the aircraft in ZZZ. So the aircraft had flown two previous legs before mine in this condition. I believe that a PA INOP is 'not' a no-go. A missing intercom should be a no-go item.
Flight Attendant reported the phone by a jumpseat was missing and requested the aircraft be swapped due possible communication issues in case of an emergency.