diff --git a/src/journal/journalctl.c b/src/journal/journalctl.c
index 4a2343a63dd..73e4fafdffd 100644
--- a/src/journal/journalctl.c
+++ b/src/journal/journalctl.c
@@ -2064,6 +2064,11 @@ static int simple_varlink_call(const char *option, const char *method) {
 }
 
 static int flush_to_var(void) {
+        if (access("/run/systemd/journal/flushed", F_OK) >= 0)
+                return 0; /* Already flushed, no need to contact journald */
+        if (errno != ENOENT)
+                return log_error_errno(errno, "Unable to check for existence of /run/systemd/journal/flushed: %m");
+
         return simple_varlink_call("--flush", "io.systemd.Journal.FlushToVar");
 }