diff --git a/src/input_xml.F90 b/src/input_xml.F90
index ece67151ce..d77a0e9a2d 100644
--- a/src/input_xml.F90
+++ b/src/input_xml.F90
@@ -2936,7 +2936,7 @@ contains
 
        ! create dictionary entry for both name and alias
        call xs_listing_dict % add_key(listing % name, i)
-       if (listing % alias /= '') then
+       if (check_for_node(node_ace, "alias")) then
          call xs_listing_dict % add_key(listing % alias, i)
        end if
     end do