Lufthansa refusing compensation
A month ago me and my wife were in Seoul on holiday, and our return flights were Seoul to Frankfurt, and Frankfurt to Manchester (UK), both flights ran by Lufthansa.
The Frankfurt to Manchester leg was cancelled, due to striking, and we had a replacement flight for the next day, so we had to stay overnight in Frankfurt.
We filed for compensation, and after one month this is their response:
We are sorry that your trip from Seoul to Manchester on April 17, 2026 did not go as planned. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Kindly note that Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 applies to flights departing from EU member states and flights arriving in EU member states from third countries. As your journey starts in South Korea and ends in The United Kingdom, we cannot accommodate your request for compensation according to Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004.
Is this correct? I can’t understand how they can get away with a EU to EU flight being cancelled, just because we came from SK? The SK flight was not cancelled.
Thanks for your help!