Travelling in order to avoid fasting?

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthyameen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: What is the ruling on travelling in Ramadan in order to avoid fasting?

He replied: 

Fasting is in principle obligatory, and it is one of the pillars of Islam, as is well known. If something is obligatory according to sharee’ah, it is not permissible to use tricks in order to avoid it. If a person travels in order to avoid fasting, then travelling is haram for him, and breaking the fast is also haram for him. He has to repent to Allah, may He be exalted, and change his travel plans and fast. If he persists with his travel plans then he must fast even if he is travelling. To sum up, it is not permissible to use tricks in order to avoid fasting in Ramadan, because the use of a trick to avoid a duty does not mean that the duty is waived, just as using tricks to do something haram does not make it permissible.