Amazon sentenced for trying to ship dangerous goods by air

Online shopping giant Amazon is to be sentenced after being found guilty of attempting to ship dangerous goods by air.

The items included lithium ion batteries and flammable aerosols, which were destined for flights within and outside the UK in four shipments between January 2014 and June 2015.

The items were only discovered when the shipments were screened by Royal Mail ahead of their intended departures and seized before they could reach the aircraft.

Amazon was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday of four counts of causing dangerous goods to be delivered for carriage in an aircraft, a breach of air safety regulations, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said.

Amazon UK Services Ltd will be sentenced at the same court on Friday for the breach.

After the hearing, the CAA's general counsel Kate Staples said: "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.

"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."

An Amazon spokesman 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."