A 27-year-old Irish national is in custody after allegedly assaulting an airport employee, a security guard, and then two PSP officers who intervened, at Lisbon's Humberto Delgado Airport on Monday afternoon. One of the officers was hospitalized with a fractured eye socket; both have since been discharged.
What happened
The incident began around 4:10pm on Monday in the European flights area, on the airport's 5th floor near the Café Versailles. According to police accounts, the suspect first assaulted an employee of Menzies, the airport's ground-handling company, along with a security guard nearby.
When PSP officers arrived to bring the situation under control, police say the man "adopted an extremely violent and aggressive posture," physically attacking the officers as they attempted to restrain him. Despite the assault, the officers managed to detain the suspect and secure the area, according to a PSP statement.
Injuries and aftermath
Two officers were hurt in the struggle. One sustained a hematoma to the neck; the other suffered a fracture to the orbital bone, the area surrounding the eye, and was initially described as being in serious condition. Both officers were treated at hospital and have since been discharged.
The suspect was taken to holding cells at the PSP's Lisbon Metropolitan Command in Moscavide, where he remained ahead of a first judicial interrogation at Lisbon's Campus da Justiça.
Official reaction
Interior Minister Luís Neves condemned the assault publicly, saying attacks on security force members "are absolutely unacceptable and merit the firm reproach of the State," and expressed solidarity with the officers involved. The PSP's own statement was similarly pointed, calling assaults on officers "an attack on the rule of law" and pledging continued firm enforcement and prosecution of those responsible.
The Independent Police Officers' Union (SIAP) used the incident to renew a longstanding demand for more resources at the airport, arguing that statements of solidarity aren't enough without concrete investment, specifically citing questions over how airport security tax revenue, legally earmarked for reinforcing PSP capacity, is actually being spent.
The broader legal context
The case also lands against a backdrop of tougher penalties for assaults on Portuguese security forces. Under Law 26/2025, in effect since April 2025, what would ordinarily be classified as simple bodily harm now carries a prison sentence of one to four years when the victim is a member of the security forces acting in the course of duty, a substantially harsher tier than before the law changed.
The circumstances that led to the initial confrontation remain under investigation.