diff --git a/go/sciond/internal/fetcher/fetcher.go b/go/sciond/internal/fetcher/fetcher.go
index 1e592436c9..af97037e3c 100644
--- a/go/sciond/internal/fetcher/fetcher.go
+++ b/go/sciond/internal/fetcher/fetcher.go
@@ -159,6 +159,9 @@ func (f *fetcherHandler) GetPaths(ctx context.Context, req *sciond.PathReq,
 	if err != nil {
 		return f.buildSCIONDReply(nil, 0, sciond.ErrorInternal), err
 	}
+	if len(paths) == 0 {
+		return f.buildSCIONDReply(nil, req.MaxPaths, sciond.ErrorNoPaths), nil
+	}
 	return f.buildSCIONDReply(paths, req.MaxPaths, sciond.ErrorOk), nil
 }