Carrying a matchbox on a flight may be prohibited, but some passengers manage to dodge checking at the airport and board flights, taking them along.

This happens despite best efforts by security agencies to prevent persons from carrying prohibited items such as matchboxes, lighters, knives and liquid in the cabin baggage.

The CISF, in a recently conducted test, found that sometimes a matchbox does not get detected in the hand baggage.

"Sometimes, a matchbox in the hand baggage goes undetected, as it is made up of wood and phosphorus, and does not give a strong signal of its presence," a senior CISF official said.

However, the force, which handles the X-ray baggage inspection system, claims that in most of the cases, hazardous items like knives, lighters and matches are detected and confiscated during security checks.

"In 99% of the cases, matchboxes and other items are detected by the X-ray screener and confiscated from the passengers," CISF spokesperson Rohit Katiyar said.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which operates the Indira Gandhi International Airport, has installed 'Multi Energy Smiths Hand Baggage Screening System' at all the terminals to check hand baggages.

"These machines are capable of detecting explosives, fire arms and hazardous organic and inorganic materials. A screener can detect even the matchboxes by seeing the image in the X-ray," a DIAL official claimed.

Aviation safety experts and crew members also expressed apprehensions about matchboxes making their way into the cabin, and said this may pose a great security threat to the aircraft.

"With airports and aircrafts being the prime targets of the terrorists, boarding the plane with prohibited items in the hand baggage may pose a threat to aviation security and safety," a pilot said.