A CATERING CREW OPENED AN A319 AFT CABIN DOOR BEFORE THE CREW DISARMED THE DOOR. SYSTEM DESIGN PREVENTED AN EMER SLIDE DEPLOYMENT.

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THIS RPT IS BEING SUBMITTED TO BACK UP OUR PURSER'S RPT. A VERBAL RPT HAS ALREADY BEEN GIVEN TO THE FLT OFFICE. WE LANDED AT XA06 AND PULLED INTO THE GATE A FEW MINS LATER. NO LOADING BRIDGE DRIVER WAS AVAILABLE. REPEATED CALLS WERE MADE TO RAMP AND THEN OPS. DUE TO THE EXTENSIVE DELAY WE STARTED THE APU AND SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE. WE STARTED TO DO THE SHUTDOWN CHKLIST BUT COULD NOT; SINCE THE SLIDES WERE STILL ARMED. (LOADING BRIDGE STILL WELL AWAY FROM ACFT AND NO SIGNS OF MOVEMENT.) AT ABOUT XA13 THE LOWER SD INDICATED THAT 1R HAD BEEN OPENED. WE LOOKED OUT AND SAW A CATERING TRUCK HAD PULLED UP TO THE ACFT. THE LOADING BRIDGE WAS BROUGHT TO THE ACFT AND 1L OPENED AT XA24. AFTER TALKING WITH THE PURSER WE LEARNED THAT WHEN CATERING OPENED 1R; THEY GAVE TWO QUICK KNOCKS AND PROCEEDED TO OPEN THE DOOR WHILE THE SLIDES WERE STILL ARMED. THE PURSER MANAGED TO FLIP THE ARMING HANDLE UP AS THEY WERE OPENING THE DOOR AND THEN MAKE A CALL FOR ALL DOORS TO BE DISARMED. WE CALMED HER DOWN A BIT BY INFORMING HER THAT IN THE AIRBUS THE SLIDES ARE AUTOMATICALLY DISARMED WHEN A DOOR IS OPENED FROM THE OUTSIDE. LUCKILY; IN THIS CASE; CATERING HAD ATTEMPTED TO OPEN AN ARMED DOOR ON AN ACFT WHERE THE BUILT IN SAFETY SYSTEMS FUNCTIONED PROPERLY AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES.