Union Unite has announced it will ballot its cabin crew members at British Airways on further strike action.
It is thought the fresh ballot will start within seven days, with a strike in the New Year a possibility.
Verbal warfare has again broken out between the airline and union, with Tony Woodley, joint general secretary at Unite, accusing BA of “continued hounding” of cabin crew members.
He said: “BA told us it was a business in crisis. They demanded structural change. These changes have been made and this business is now in profit with senior management filling their wallets with the spoils.
“Yet BA is determined to continue with this vicious war against its workforce… This airline has conducted a year-long assault on cabin crew collectively and on many of them as individuals."
Woodley added: “We will not stand by while this airline bullies our members out of their jobs, and if it takes strike action to bring BA management to its senses, then that is the road we must, regretfully, travel.”
Unite is calling for an immediate restoration of staff travel concessions, in full, rather than the delayed restoration BA has proposed.
It also wants restoration of the wages docked from crew who were genuinely off sick during strike dates.
A resolution to the bitter dispute was in sight in October, when all members were due to balloted on a deal, but BASSA (British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association) rejected the offer before it could go to a vote.
BASSA claimed conditions contained within the appendix of the offer were “a step too far”, forcing Unite to cancel the vote.
In a statement, BA said Unite had broken its promise: “Tony Woodley shook hands with us on an agreement in October, and said he would let cabin crew vote on the deal with a recommendation for acceptance.”
The airline said the move will “damage the interests of thousands of [the union’s] own members within British Airways”.
“We have said for some time that Unite is dysfunctional, and the disagreements between different sections of the union have been played out in public.
“In recent days, Unite has changed its position yet again, calling for fresh talks then announcing a strike ballot before such talks take place.”
If a strike does take place, BA said it will operate normal timetables at Gatwick and London City airports, and aim to run “a substantial proportion” of its short-haul flights at Heathrow, plus 100% of long-haul flights.