diff --git a/compiler/ast2nif.nim b/compiler/ast2nif.nim
index 76dac3877c..3aa0c6e784 100644
--- a/compiler/ast2nif.nim
+++ b/compiler/ast2nif.nim
@@ -864,7 +864,6 @@ proc loadNode(c: var DecodeContext; n: var Cursor): PNode =
     of nkEmpty:
       result = newNodeI(nkEmpty, c.infos.oldLineInfo(n.info))
       inc n
-      result.flags = loadAtom(TNodeFlags, n)
       skipParRi n
     of nkIdent:
       let info = c.infos.oldLineInfo(n.info)