Amazon cites regulatory issues in decision to halt drone delivery plans, despite making good progress with aerospace regulators.
US online retail giant Amazon said on Sunday that it has dropped plans to roll out drone delivery of goods in Italy, citing business regulatory issues as an obstacle to the project.
Noting that it had made positive progress with Italian aerospace regulators, the company told Reuters that “the broader business regulatory framework in the country does not, at this time, support our longer-term objectives for this program”.
Italian civil aviation ENAC said in a statement over the weekend that the “unexpected” move was motivated by company policy, linked to “recent financial events involving the Group”.
In December 2024 Amazon announced that it had successfully tested its first drone delivery in Italy, amid plans to launch a drone delivery service in the country.
The test flight was conducted using a MK-30 drone near Amazon’s San Salvo distribution complex in the central Abruzzo region.
Earlier this month Amazon reached a €723 million settlement with Italian tax authorities following a probe by Milan prosecutors into the company’s logistics services unit amid allegations that it circumvented Italian labour and tax laws.
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