Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 126
Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Distraction; Other / Unknown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Security
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy; Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors; Procedure
We blocked out for our XA:35 scheduled reposition flight to ZZZ1 at XA:25 at gate X in ZZZ.  Shortly after blocking out we received an MDC fault status message so getting a ramp crew to push us right away was not our top priority.  I called Maintenance and we were able to MEL the MDC through a pilot deferral.  As I finished up the paperwork I asked my FO to call operations to start rounding up a ramp crew for us as we would be ready to leave shortly; I am guessing this was around XA:45.  After a while I saw 2 rampers come out; they disconnected power then seemed to disappear again.  I knew we were a reposition flight; so understood if we weren't the highest priority as the weather wasn't the best; so I tried not to push too hard for them to hurry up.  At approximately XB:05; I was just about to call ops to ask them the status on our push crew when our main cabin door was opened unexpectedly by a cleaning crew that informed us they needed to do a sweep and clean our airplane.  I was baffled that they just came up to our aircraft unannounced and opened our door without making any contact with us first.  We had already completed our pushback checklist and everything 100% ready to go and our door just opens up.  They completed the security sweep and the COVID cleaning form (why we need COVID cleaning to send a plane into heavy check is beyond me).No one at the airport seemed to have any idea that this aircraft was going to be ferried out.  This led to ground personnel not having everything completed that they were supposed to complete prior to departure.  The gate agent told me we were good to go as it was a ferry flight; so I was under the assumption that the security sweep and COVID cleaning would not be needed.To prevent this from happening again I think it would be wise to revert our pushback checklist to how it used to be where we would turn the beacon on as a part of the pushback flow.  Those cleaners could have potentially found themselves in a dangerous situation very fast and I think the beacon would have stopped them.  As a former ramp worker I was always taught never to approach an aircraft with a beacon on.  Also; I think some more guidance on FFOD security sweeps and COVID cleaning requirements regarding reposition and charters would be nice.  I worked a charter flight recently and thinking back on it we were never given a security sweep on day 2 of our charter.  I have done several repositions lately and sometimes we aren't starting at a terminal and cleaners haven't had access to the airplane.
Air carrier Flight Captain reported being ready to push an aircraft that was planned for a reposition; when the cabin door opened; and a cleaning crew came aboard.