By Kate Clark in Kabul

A senior official with Iata, the International Air Transport Association, who is working in Afghanistan, has said the recent hijack would probably have been prevented if UN sanctions hadn't hampered their work.

The official, Gary Denison, said he was immensely frustrated when he heard the news of the hijack from Kabul airport.

The Afghan civil aviation authorities had asked for help in upgrading security and Iata had been due to install X-ray machines and metal detectors, but UN sanctions had resulted in difficulties and delays getting the machines into the country.

Mr Denison believes the new equipment would probably have prevented the hijack.

He thinks airport officials would have been alerted to the hijackers trying to smuggle weapons onto the plane.

The UN imposed an air embargo on Afghanistan in November in an attempt to force the Taleban authorities to hand over the Islamic militant, Osama bin Laden.

Checks by hand

The object of the sanctions, said Mr Denison, was to prevent terrorism, not facilitate it.

At the moment, all body and luggage checks are carried out by hand.

Even that isn't an easy task.

Kabul airport has no electricity and it can be difficult searching luggage in the gloom.

One Afghan flight has got a special exemption from the UN.

Sick children

It is taking a plane full of sick children for treatment in Germany.

Ninety-two children are on board, all too seriously ill or injured to be treated in Afghanistan.

The trip was planned by the German charity, Peace Village, and almost ruined by the hijacking.

The Boeing 727 which was hijacked had been scheduled for the trip and the captain for the German flight was supposed to have been Captain Saidi, who was among the hostages.

Both plane and pilot are still in London.

Ariana Airlines only has a tiny fleet and a limited number of staff.

Two crew members who were among the hostages were helping with the flight to Germany.

They only arrived back in Kabul on Monday night, shaken and exhausted by their ordeal.

When asked why they weren't resting and recovering from the hijack, one said that Afghans were just used to getting on with life.