diff --git a/src/gt4py/next/program_processors/runners/gtfn.py b/src/gt4py/next/program_processors/runners/gtfn.py
index 1611444aa2..f688a5db91 100644
--- a/src/gt4py/next/program_processors/runners/gtfn.py
+++ b/src/gt4py/next/program_processors/runners/gtfn.py
@@ -162,8 +162,11 @@ def __init__(self, directory: Optional[str | pathlib.Path] = None, **settings: A
         with lock:
             super().__init__(directory=directory, **settings)
 
+        self._init_complete = True
+
     def __del__(self) -> None:
-        self.close()
+        if getattr(self, "_init_complete", False):  # skip if `__init__` didn't finished
+            self.close()
 
 
 class GTFNCompileWorkflowFactory(factory.Factory):