diff --git a/release/tools/ec2.conf b/release/tools/ec2.conf
index 4969ad560a58..9472ec59d89f 100644
--- a/release/tools/ec2.conf
+++ b/release/tools/ec2.conf
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ vm_extra_pre_umount() {
 	# catalogue and install or update pkg when the instance first
 	# launches, so these files would just be replaced anyway; removing
 	# them from the image allows it to boot faster.
-	pkg -c ${DESTDIR} delete -f -y pkg
+	env ASSUME_ALWAYS_YES=yes pkg -c ${DESTDIR} delete -f -y pkg
 	rm ${DESTDIR}/var/db/pkg/repo-*.sqlite
 
 	# The size of the EC2 root disk can be configured at instance launch