diff --git a/scripts/runfvp b/scripts/runfvp
index c5a74b2f..ee60486c 100755
--- a/scripts/runfvp
+++ b/scripts/runfvp
@@ -55,8 +55,8 @@ async def start_fvp(args, config, extra_args):
 
         if args.console:
             fvp.add_line_callback(lambda line: logger.debug(f"FVP output: {line}"))
-            expected_terminal = config["consoles"]["default"]
-            if not expected_terminal:
+            expected_terminal = config["consoles"].get("default")
+            if expected_terminal is None:
                 logger.error("--console used but FVP_CONSOLE not set in machine configuration")
                 return 1
             telnet = await fvp.create_telnet(expected_terminal)