Talks between British Airways and the Unite union aimed at averting strike action by cabin crew have broken down without agreement.

No further talks were scheduled to be held.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Despite a prolonged period of negotiations it has not been possible to reach agreement between BA and Unite.

"Both parties will be reflecting on the position and the TUC will be keeping in touch but at this stage no further negotiations are planned."

BA cabin crew voted for strike action last month over cuts and changes to working conditions.

Unite leaders will meet to discuss their next move, while BA says it is open to further talks.

BA has stressed that it will not allow the union to cripple operations and has contigency plans in place including chartering aircraft and using volunteer staff to work on aircraft.  

But it looks increasingly likely that strike dates will be announced after the breakdown of the lengthy talks..

If it goes ahead with strike action, the union must announce the strike dates by Monday (March 15) - the day when the union's mandate for industrial action runs out.

That follows the ballot of Unite cabin crew members last month, when 81% voted in favour of strikes.

Jamie Bowden, an aviation analyst and former BA employee, told the BBC that BA had up to 7,000 crew to work on aircraft, and was also preparing to allow other airlines to fly BA passengers in order to minimise disruption.

"With 7,000 crew ready to work the strike cannot be as effective as Unite would like it to be," he said.