As far as the Li-ion battery in the case was concerned, it seems Amazon didn't exactly "try to ship it by air", they sent it by Royal Mail. It would have gone by road to most addresses on the British mainland, but because it was destined for Jersey, it would have gone by air if Royal Mail hadn't screened it out. Amazon contravened Royal Mail rules because RM prohibits Li-ion batteries shipped by themselves – but RM does allow a battery "sent with or contained in/connected to an electronic device". So it seems that, instead of sending the battery by itself, Amazon should have sent it with a device, and asked the customer to keep the battery and send the device back. That would have been within the rules, and probably cheaper than special shipment – but would it been any safer?