§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Minister for Trade if he will investigate the practice among some travel agents known as cross-border ticketing; whether he will issue advice to air travellers as to their liabilities under the terms of international conventions if they purchase tickets in this manner; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to the reply, 11 June 1982, c. 172]: The practice known as cross-border ticketing consists in selling air tickets in one country for a journey originating in another. The practice has arisen because of different fares charged in different countries for similar journeys. Price differentials of this kind exist because of the varying cost and price structures of airlines worldwide, because of exchange rate fluctuations, and because of the anomalies which arise from the operation of artificial currency conversion rules which have been agreed between the airlines in IATA.
Air travellers do not commit an offence against United Kingdom law if they purchase a ticket in this manner, although they can be in breach of the conditions of carriage of the airlines concerned and may thus be asked for additional payment or refused carriage.