Talks between British Airways and Unite broke down without agreement tonight, leaving the airline facing a strike as early as next Thursday.
The airline and the cabin crew had been trying to thrash out a deal to avert the strike throughout the week.
But the TUC said that no deal had been reached and no further talks were planned.
TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, who had been hosting the peace talks, 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."
The union has to give BA seven days notice of a strike, meaning a stoppage could start as soon as next Thursday if notice is given tomorrow.
Unite was believed to have submitted a proposal to BA that would save more than £60 million by a pay freeze followed by a pay cut but avoiding all the changes to working practices proposed by BA.
BA was thought to have agreed to reduce the level of staffing cuts it proposed but by a smaller amount than Unite wanted.
