Misery for travellers looks almost certain with a planned 24-hour walk-out on January 7 – the day millions of Britons hope to return to work after the Christmas and New Year break.

The action is set to halt all flights at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, with another 14-hour strike planned on January 14 and a 48- hour stoppage starting on January 17.

Yesterday, leaders of the union Unite met with the airports’ owners BAA to try to resolve the pensions row – but the dispute remained deadlocked.

No further dates have been set for negotiations although union officials stressed there is still time for another attempt to head off the strikes.

A union spokesman said the company had refused to back down over a controversial decision to close its final salary pension scheme to new entrants.