The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has made a significant ruling that could have far-reaching implications for the travel industry. In its decision, the ECJ confirmed that consumers are entitled to a refund even if they cancel their trip due to "unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances" and the tour operator becomes insolvent after the cancellation. The ruling concerns cases from Belgium and Austria in which customers had to cancel their trips due to the Covid-19 pandemic and shortly afterwards the tour operator filed for bankruptcy. The decision focused on two key cases from Belgium and Austria in which travelers canceled their planned trips for 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The customers affected had concluded contracts with tour operators, but the tour operators filed for bankruptcy soon after the cancellations. The legal dispute revolved around whether the cover provided by the tour operator's insolvency insurance would also apply in these cases. In Austria, consumers sued the insurer HDI after the tour operator they had booked with filed for bankruptcy. HDI argued that no refund should be made because the cancellation of the trip was due to Corona and not due to insolvency. However, the ECJ did not follow this argument and made it clear that the protection of insolvency insurance remains effective in these cases. The ECJ's decision The ECJ ruled that there is no legal basis for treating travellers who had to cancel their trip due to exceptional circumstances such as the pandemic differently from those whose trip is cancelled due to the insolvency of the tour operator. The court based its decision on EU law, which stipulates that consumers,