British unions say a strike at British Airways will go ahead as planned. It will begin on Saturday and last for three days. A second strike has been announced for a week later.

The unions are demanding a pay rise and assurances there will be no forced sackings.

Management insist the company must modernise. The latest negotiations broke down earlier on Friday. It is not yet clear if the parties will return to the negotiating table later today.

More than half of BA's nearly two thousand daily flights could be affected. Several other airlines have already announced they will increase their number of flights to Britain in the coming days.