Small nail scissors and knitting needles will be allowed on board

The new guidelines also mean pointed household items such as small nail scissors or knitting needles will not be confiscated.

Ministers believe sealed cockpits, CCTV and sky marshals have removed the need to ban some items.

But a ban will still remain on objects such as corkscrews and penknives.

Security measures

"Airline security is an ongoing issue which is under constant review," said a spokesman for the Department of Transport.

"We are now of the view that there are enough security measures in place to allow passengers to bring these items back on to planes."

If you are sitting in a first class seat and getting served a rather nice meal, it is strange to have to eat it with a couple of plastic implements Spokesman, British Airways Guidedogs on flights

When the new guidelines come into force, passengers will be permitted to carry knitting needles and scissors with blades shorter than 3cm in their hand luggage.

Nail files and tweezers remain discretionary but airports and airlines will enforce their own specific policy.

Box-cutters

Managers at British Airways welcomed the new proposals.

"We are very keen to get metal cutlery back on our aircraft," a spokesman said.

Of the plastic substitute, he said: "Our customers were certainly not enamoured by it. If you are sitting in a first class seat and getting served a rather nice meal on porcelain plate, it is rather strange to have to eat it with a couple of plastic implements."

Sharp objects were banned on airlines after the 11 September attacks which were carried out with the help of sharpened box-cutters smuggled on board.

Within a year 15,000 sharp objects a day were being confiscated and disposed across UK airports, a spokeswoman at Heathrow said.