FULLY INCLUSIVE PRICING POLICY The Air Transport Users Council has reported that with effect from 11 October 2005, British Airways has introduced a fully inclusive pricing policy on www.ba.com. The airline has stated that this has not had a negative impact on bookings and that feedback from the public has been positive. Lufthansa has also introduced the same policy and Easyjet now includes all charges up front except Air Passenger Duty. If you have any queries, please contact the Members' Information line (membersinfo@abta.co.uk) on 0845 177 ABTA (2282).

CODE OF CONDUCT GUIDANCE: SPECIAL REQUESTS/DISABILITIES Members are reminded of clause 1.4(ii) of ABTA's Code of Conduct. This requires Members to ensure that any special requests relating to disabilities or medical conditions are noted and, where appropriate, are passed on to principals effectively and in accordance with any agency agreement. Passing on the correct details to tour operators ensures that suitable arrangements can be made for all elements of the holiday, such as flights and accommodation. If you have any queries on this or any other aspects of the Code of Conduct, please contact the ABTA Legal Department (legal@abta.co.uk) on 020 7307 1961.

CHIP AND PIN Members are reminded that after 14 February 2006, to protect you and your customers from fraud, you should expect card companies to decline payments automatically if a PIN is not used with a chip and PIN card. Please visit www.chipandpin.co.uk/reflib/retailer_best_practice_guide.pdf for further information. If you have any queries, please contact the chip and PIN programme at info@chipandpin.co.uk or speak to your merchant provider.

PERSONAL FOOD IMPORT RULES To remind Members that the European Commission imposes strict controls on the import of certain food products into the UK for personal consumption. These rules are essential to protect animal and public health, the environment and the travel and tourism industries. In light of the occurrence of Avian Influenza H5N1 in a number of countries, it is very important that passengers are made aware of the personal food import rules. It is illegal to bring in to the UK from non-EU countries, meat and meat products, poultry, milk and dairy products. There are strict controls on other food items, plants and their products. There are strict penalties for bringing in illegal items and travellers can risk severe delays, prosecution and fines. For more information visit www.defra.gov.uk or contact the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) helpline (helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk) on 08459 33 55 77.

AMEX JOINS ATP SCHEME American Express is the latest ABTA Member to join the Accredited Travel Professional (ATP) scheme pilot. The pilot, which receives funding from the London Development Agency (LDA) is open to all ABTA Members with offices in London Boroughs. We are currently arranging dates for mentor workshops for new members of the pilot. If you would like to take part in these, please contact Vicki Wolf (vwolf@abta.co.uk) on 020 7307 1916. For more information on the ATP pilot please visit www.a-t-p.org.uk/pages/info.html

DOT EU DOMAIN NAME The European Commission has announced that the .eu top-level domain, which enables businesses, public bodies and citizens to choose a pan-European internet name for their websites and email addresses, opened for business on 7 December 2005. For further information please visit www.eurid.eu/en or contact the European Registry of Internet Domain Names (EURid) (info@eurid.eu) on +32 (0)2 401 2760.

THE ABTA TRAVEL CONVENTION If you attended the recent ABTA Convention in Marrakech, we would be grateful if you could let us have your feedback by completing the online post-event questionnaire at www.abtaconvention.com/home.html. From here you can also download some of the presentations that were given during the event. For more information about the ABTA Travel Convention, please contact CO Plus(moreinfo@theabtatravelconvention.com) on 01920 873 030.

For a list of forthcoming ABTA events, including regional meetings and seminars, go to www.abtamembers.org/diary.htm For a list of ABTA publications, consumer leaflets, and ABTA-branded items, go to www.abta.com/publications

(c) ABTA 2005. All rights reserved

If you cannot access the internet but would like further information about any of the topics covered in this issue of ABTA Today, please contact the Members' Information line on 0845 177 ABTA (2282) or 020 7307 1994.

You can change your email details at any time by going to www.abta.net/app/member.htm and following the prompts. Alternatively, contact Daryl Nurthen (dnurthen@abta.co.uk) on 020 7307 1996.