Amazon UK fined for shipping dangerous items by air

Amazon UK has received a £65,000 fine for shipping dangerous goods via air.

The etailer has been charged with four counts of causing dangerous goods to be delivered for carriage in an aircraft, which is in breach of air navigation rules.

Southwark Crown Court found that Amazon had attempted to transport three batteries, a can of deodorant and a hair mousse, in four shipments delivered within and outside the UK between 2014 and 2015.

The items were discovered by Royal Mail and UPS when the packages were screened before departure, and were subsequently seized.   

A further seven charges were made against Amazon, however one was cleared and no verdict was reached on the remaining six.

In addition to the fine, Amazon UK was ordered to pay costs of £60,000.

When sentencing, Judge Michael Grieve QC said: while there were "few and comparatively minor contraventions" he had to take into account the "massive resources of the company".

Kate Staples, general counsel of the CAA, said: "There are important international and domestic restrictions to prohibit the shipping of certain goods that pose a flight safety risk.

"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."

Martin Goudie, prosecuter, told the court: "Under the right circumstances the batteries, even new, undamaged batteries, could overheat, potentially causing burns, explosion or a fire."

Lawyer Stephen Spence, defending Amazon, said: "We are not talking about Amazon lugging a propane canister onto a plane. They are everyday household items, and one should pay perspective to that."

In a statement, Amazon said: "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.

"The safety of the public, our customers, employees and partners is an absolute priority."

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Image : kay roxby / Shutterstock.com

Source : Insight DIY

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