diff --git a/cli/internal/cmd/upgradeapply.go b/cli/internal/cmd/upgradeapply.go
index 7b14a5259c..7ea9607407 100644
--- a/cli/internal/cmd/upgradeapply.go
+++ b/cli/internal/cmd/upgradeapply.go
@@ -549,7 +549,7 @@ func parseUpgradeApplyFlags(cmd *cobra.Command) (upgradeApplyFlags, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return upgradeApplyFlags{}, fmt.Errorf("parsing skip-phases flag: %w", err)
 	}
-	skipPhases := []skipPhase{}
+	var skipPhases []skipPhase
 	for _, phase := range rawSkipPhases {
 		switch skipPhase(phase) {
 		case skipInfrastructurePhase, skipHelmPhase, skipNodePhase, skipK8sPhase: