Amazon drops drone delivery plans in Italy after strategic review

Amazon has decided to halt its plans to introduce commercial drone deliveries in Italy, citing regulatory challenges that do not align with its long-term business objectives. The decision, announced on Sunday, comes despite the company making progress with Italian aerospace authorities and successfully completing initial test flights late last year.

The e-commerce giant said it had engaged positively with Italy’s aviation regulators, including the civil aviation authority Ente Nazionale per l’Aviazione Civile (ENAC), during the development phase of the project. However, after a strategic review, Amazon concluded that the broader business and regulatory environment in the country was not supportive enough to continue with the programme.

“Following a strategic review, we have decided to stop our commercial drone delivery plans in Italy,” Amazon said in a statement to Reuters. The company added that while discussions with aerospace regulators had been encouraging, the overall regulatory framework did not currently meet the needs of its long-term objectives for drone deliveries.

Italy’s civil aviation authority ENAC described the decision as unexpected. In a statement issued on Saturday, ENAC said Amazon’s move appeared to be driven by internal company policy and linked it to “recent financial events involving the Group.”

Amazon had announced in December 2024 that it had successfully completed initial drone delivery tests in San Salvo, a town in the central Abruzzo region, raising expectations that Italy could soon become part of its global drone delivery network.

The company did not indicate whether it might revisit the project in Italy at a later stage.