diff --git a/dlt/destinations/impl/athena/athena.py b/dlt/destinations/impl/athena/athena.py
index a2e2566a76..c7e30aaf55 100644
--- a/dlt/destinations/impl/athena/athena.py
+++ b/dlt/destinations/impl/athena/athena.py
@@ -318,11 +318,12 @@ def __init__(
         # verify if staging layout is valid for Athena
         # this will raise if the table prefix is not properly defined
         # we actually that {table_name} is first, no {schema_name} is allowed
-        self.table_prefix_layout = path_utils.get_table_prefix_layout(
-            config.staging_config.layout,
-            supported_prefix_placeholders=[],
-            table_needs_own_folder=True,
-        )
+        if config.staging_config:
+            self.table_prefix_layout = path_utils.get_table_prefix_layout(
+                config.staging_config.layout,
+                supported_prefix_placeholders=[],
+                table_needs_own_folder=True,
+            )
 
         sql_client = AthenaSQLClient(
             config.normalize_dataset_name(schema),