Amazon’s new MK30 Prime Air drone is displayed during Amazon’s “Delivering the Future” event at the company’s BFI1 Fulfillment Center, Robotics Research and Development Hub in Sumner, Washington on Oct. 18, 2023.
Jason Redmond | AFP | Getty Images
Amazon said on Sunday it has decided not to pursue plans to deliver goods by drone in Italy, saying that while it had made good progress with aerospace regulators, broader business regulatory issues did not support the project.
The Italian civil aviation ENAC called the decision unexpected, saying in a statement on Saturday the move was motivated by company policy, linked to “recent financial events involving the Group.”
The company had announced in December 2024 the successful completion of initial tests of delivery drones in San Salvo, a town in the central Abruzzo region.
In a statement to Reuters on Sunday, Amazon said:
“Following a strategic review, we have decided to stop our commercial drone delivery plans in Italy”.
“Despite positive engagement and progress with Italian aerospace regulators, the broader business regulatory framework in the country does not, at this time, support our longer-term objectives for this program,” Amazon added.