If you were among those who couldn’t wait to have their latest order delivered on Amazon with a drone, we have some bad news to give you: the Amazon Prime Air project in Italy has suffered a sudden and unexpected setback. Enac (National Civil Aviation Authority) has in fact received an official communication from Amazon management which establishes the immediate suspension of the program drone delivery which should have been based in San Salvo, Abruzzo. The decision, which came like a bolt from the blue, involves the interruption of the process to obtain LUC certification (Light UAS Operator Certificate), a fundamental document that authorizes an operator to manage drone flights without having to request specific permits for each individual operation.
Although the Seattle company justified the choice by citing a generic «strategic review» and arguing that the current Italian context does not offer the ideal conditions for their long-term objectives, the reasons seem to be rooted in much more pragmatic and financial issues. At the center of the matter are the recent fiscal turbulence which led the e-commerce giant to pay 511 million euros to the Italian Treasury to settle a dispute over alleged irregularities regarding the payment of VAT. Despite Amazon’s farewell, the regulatory and technical infrastructure will not be lost: from 1 January 2026 the “U-Space San Salvo” will still be active which, according to what was stated by ENAC, is «the first in Europe». It is a «portion of airspace in which the integration between manned flights and remote pilot flights takes place, an essential element to guarantee the full and safe operation of unmanned vehicles, allowing experimental activities and emergency operations».
The most likely reason why the project didn’t get off the ground
Analyzing in detail what happened, also thanks to a reconstruction made by Corriere della Sera following direct contact with some informed sources, it seems that everything started on December 10th, with a communication from David J. Carbon, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, sent to the president of ENAC Pierluigi Di Palma, through which the American giant put an end to the project. There was a certain pride in knowing that Italy was the only European Union country chosen for this pilot project, which was supposed to complement the trials already active in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The project clashed with company policy logics closely connected to the Milanese judicial events of recent times. The Milan Prosecutor’s Office had in fact contested a tax fraud of vast proportions, approximately 1.2 billion euros, linked to the evasion of VAT by third-party sellers who use the Amazon marketplace; the resolution of this dispute, with the payment by Amazon of the agreed maxi-sum of 511 million euros, has probably cooled relations and changed the assessment of the risk and the opportunity to invest significantly, at this time, in our territory for such an experimental service.
ENAC also confirms the hypothesis in question. In fact, in the official press release announcing the suspension of the project:
The organization has taken note of the unexpected news from Amazon which, while confirming an undisputed appreciation of the profitable work carried out together with Enac, for reasons of company policy and as a consequence of the recent financial events involving the Group, has decided to start the launch of commercial operations and the request for certification as an operator in another member state of the European Union.
The possible involvement of the Government
The sources consulted by Corriere della Sera suggest that there would be «active comparisons» with representatives of the Italian Government and whose objective is to calm the spirits between the parties. Despite this, it is utopian to think that the project can follow the roadmap that was originally planned and which saw 2026 as the year of the debut of Amazon deliveries with drones in Italy.
