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Amazon has communicated to ENAC, the national civil aviation body, the suspension of the project called Prime Air which aimed to deliver light packages with drones. The trial was presented in 2023 and envisaged delivering packages of up to 2.5 kilos at a maximum distance of 12 kilometers from the starting point. Amazon had begun testing flights in San Salvo, Abruzzo, and the first deliveries were expected in spring 2026.
ENAC wrote in a note that the suspension of the project was unexpected and gave some clues as to the reasons that may have pushed the company to change its mind: according to ENAC the interruption of Prime Air was due to “company policy reasons and as a consequence of the financial events that involved the group”. According to several newspapers, the financial events cited are related to the dispute with the Italian tax authorities for the failure to pay taxes amounting to 1 billion and 200 million euros between 2019 and 2021.
In fact, at the beginning of December Amazon reached an agreement with the Revenue Agency to resolve the dispute by paying a total of 723 million euros. According to investigations by the Milan prosecutor’s office, Amazon did not declare to the Revenue Agency the identity and data of the non-European sellers from whom it was asked to pay VAT. According to the accusation, the missed tax declarations are attributable to Amazon’s predictive algorithm, which does not consider the tax obligations owed to those who put the goods of non-European sellers on sale.
Amazon said in a statement that the suspension of Prime Air in Italy is the result of a “strategic review” because the context in which the company operates in Italy “does not currently offer the necessary conditions” for long-term objectives.
Amazon has been investing in Prime Air and experimenting with deliveries in the United States for at least 10 years. So far there have been many delays and setbacks compared to the forecast. The main reasons for the uncertainties of this technology are technological and economic in nature. Those of the first type mainly concern the precision and safety of drones which, especially in a complex urban environment, must fly between many obstacles and avoid errors that could cause damage and legal problems.
On an economic level, however, delivery via drone risks not making much sense in most cases. A land vehicle, such as a van but also a cargo bike, can transport many packages, even large ones, and is able to make multiple stops in a single trip, making it more efficient.
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