diff --git a/packages/flare/bin/cron_job_ingest_events.py b/packages/flare/bin/cron_job_ingest_events.py
index cb1a80c..bcd7e88 100644
--- a/packages/flare/bin/cron_job_ingest_events.py
+++ b/packages/flare/bin/cron_job_ingest_events.py
@@ -353,6 +353,9 @@ def get_splunk_service(logger: Logger) -> Service:
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
+    if sys.version_info < (3, 9):
+        sys.exit("Error: This application requires Python 3.9 or higher.")
+    
     logger = Logger(class_name=__file__)
     splunk_service: Service = get_splunk_service(logger=logger)
     app: Application = splunk_service.apps[APP_NAME]