diff --git a/package/base-files/files/etc/init.d/fstab b/package/base-files/files/etc/init.d/fstab
index cca8761996..b7cc209d13 100755
--- a/package/base-files/files/etc/init.d/fstab
+++ b/package/base-files/files/etc/init.d/fstab
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ start() {
 	config_foreach do_mount mount
 	config_foreach do_swapon swap
 	mount -a
-	swapon -a
+	[ -x /sbin/swapon ] && swapon -a
 }
 
 stop() {