diff --git a/pbx/pbx_ael.c b/pbx/pbx_ael.c
index 791a58c3c3..f460b630f6 100644
--- a/pbx/pbx_ael.c
+++ b/pbx/pbx_ael.c
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ ASTERISK_FILE_VERSION(__FILE__, "$Revision$")
 
 #include <sys/types.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <string.h>
 #include <ctype.h>
@@ -3803,6 +3804,11 @@ static int pbx_load_module(void)
 		sprintf(rfilename, "%s/%s", ast_config_AST_CONFIG_DIR, config);
 	}
 	ast_log(LOG_NOTICE, "AEL load process: calculated config file name '%s'.\n", rfilename);
+
+	if (access(rfilename,R_OK) != 0) {
+		ast_log(LOG_NOTICE, "File %s not found; AEL declining load\n", rfilename);
+		return AST_MODULE_LOAD_DECLINE;
+	}
 	
 	parse_tree = ael2_parse(rfilename, &errs);
 	ast_log(LOG_NOTICE, "AEL load process: parsed config file name '%s'.\n", rfilename);