B767-300 and 300 ER
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Communication Breakdown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural MEL / CDL; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed; General Maintenance Action
MEL; Company Policy; Aircraft; Procedure
The APU had been written up a half dozen times prior to my trip ZZZ-ZZZ1. The ZZZ station guide clearly states that the APU must be operational. However; maintenance control with dispatch in tow scheduled this plane to operate in Middle East theater. I was not thoroughly briefed by maintenance with all the APU issues prior to departure. The start in ZZZ exposed a very hard electrical transfer that knocked off the APU generator. I questioned the issue with maintenance. Temperatures that day at ZZZ reached 46 degrees C while we were on the ramp. The APU failed 3 times. The ground power unit provided by the organization was useless and there where no other GPU available. Passengers had to sit in the dark plane with no air while we attempted to restore power to the airplane. ACARS comms do not reflect complete communication with dispatch. We were very very lucky to get one engine started.
Captain reported APU MEL issues caused operational issues during ground operations in overseas areas with excessive high temperatures.