Manchester Airport attacker jailed after assaulting two police officers

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was jailed for three and a half years at Liverpool Crown Court after a violent confrontation at Manchester Airport left PC Lydia Ward with a broken nose and injured a second officer and a member of the public. The sentence on 26 June 2026 capped a case that exposed how quickly disorder in a crowded airport can spill over onto frontline staff trying to make an arrest.

The incident began on Tuesday 23 July 2024 in Terminal 2 arrivals after officers moved to arrest Amaaz over an alleged headbutt in a Starbucks cafe. Prosecutors said the encounter escalated in a public area of the airport, in front of children, and that Amaaz threw 10 punches during the confrontation. Greater Manchester Police said extensive footage was shown during the four-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court in July 2025.

Amaaz, now 21 and from Rochdale, was convicted of assaulting PC Lydia Ward causing actual bodily harm, assaulting emergency worker PC Ellie Cook, and assaulting Abdulkareem Ismaeil. The court heard that Amaaz punched PC Ward in the face, breaking her nose, and also knocked PC Cook to the ground. PC Ward told the court she had been “absolutely terrified” and later described herself in a victim impact statement as weighing no more than eight stone at the time, saying Amaaz had used her as a “punching bag”.

The case drew wider attention because the violence was captured on footage that spread across social media and because the assault took place in a busy airport concourse, where police officers were dealing with a suspect in full view of the public. The setting added to the risk faced by staff who work in high-stress transport hubs, where disputes can become sudden physical attacks in front of travellers, families and children.

Greater Manchester Police said the trial established what happened across the arrest attempt, the blows to the officers and the assault on a member of the public. The jail term reflects the court’s view that the attack crossed the line from resistance into serious violence against officers carrying out their duties in a crowded public space.