diff --git a/federationsender/queue/destinationqueue.go b/federationsender/queue/destinationqueue.go
index f1f994034..be63290c6 100644
--- a/federationsender/queue/destinationqueue.go
+++ b/federationsender/queue/destinationqueue.go
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) backgroundSend() {
 	}
 	destinationQueueRunning.Inc()
 	defer destinationQueueRunning.Dec()
-	defer oq.queues.clearQueue(oq.destination)
+	defer oq.queues.clearQueue(oq)
 	defer oq.running.Store(false)
 
 	// Mark the queue as overflowed, so we will consult the database
diff --git a/federationsender/queue/queue.go b/federationsender/queue/queue.go
index f77347445..56c81e64b 100644
--- a/federationsender/queue/queue.go
+++ b/federationsender/queue/queue.go
@@ -171,15 +171,14 @@ func (oqs *OutgoingQueues) getQueue(destination gomatrixserverlib.ServerName) *d
 	return oq
 }
 
-func (oqs *OutgoingQueues) clearQueue(destination gomatrixserverlib.ServerName) {
+func (oqs *OutgoingQueues) clearQueue(oq *destinationQueue) {
 	oqs.queuesMutex.Lock()
 	defer oqs.queuesMutex.Unlock()
-	if oq, ok := oqs.queues[destination]; ok {
-		close(oq.notify)
-		close(oq.interruptBackoff)
-		delete(oqs.queues, destination)
-		destinationQueueTotal.Dec()
-	}
+
+	close(oq.notify)
+	close(oq.interruptBackoff)
+	delete(oqs.queues, oq.destination)
+	destinationQueueTotal.Dec()
 }
 
 type ErrorFederationDisabled struct {