Amazon UK has been found guilty of breaching dangerous goods rules after prosecution by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. It has been widely reported that the online retailer was ordered to pay a fine of £65,000 following the guilty verdict.
Amazon was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 23 September for four counts of ‘causing dangerous goods to be delivered for carriage in an aircraft,’– the dangerous goods included lithium-ion batteries and flammable aerosols.
The breaches took place between January 2014 and June 2015 on flights headed for the UK as well as outside of the country.
The retailer broke rules under the Air Navigation (Dangerous Goods) Regulations 2002.
“The safety of aviation and the public is paramount and that’s why there are important international and domestic restrictions to prohibit the shipping of certain goods that pose a flight safety risk,” said Kate Staples, the CAA’s general counsel. “These dangerous goods include lithium batteries, which are banned from being transported as mail or cargo on a passenger aircraft unless they are installed in or packed with equipment.
“We work closely with retailers and online traders to ensure they understand the regulations and have robust processes in place so their items can be shipped safely.”
A spokesperson from Amazon said: “The safety of the public, our customers, employees and partners is an absolute priority. We ship millions of products every week and are confident in the sophisticated technologies and processes we have developed to detect potential shipping hazards. We are constantly working to further improve and will continue to work with the CAA in this area.”
Lithium-Ion cargo shipments on passenger aircraft has been banned since 1st April this year.
