diff --git a/heartbeat/tests/system/test_telemetry.py b/heartbeat/tests/system/test_telemetry.py
index b980468cf8e5..92ce2e4fc048 100644
--- a/heartbeat/tests/system/test_telemetry.py
+++ b/heartbeat/tests/system/test_telemetry.py
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ def test_telemetry(self):
         """
         Test that telemetry metrics are correctly registered and increment / decrement
         """
+        # This test is flaky https://github.com/elastic/beats/issues/8966
+        raise SkipTest
+
         if os.name == "nt":
             # This test is currently skipped on windows because file permission
             # configuration isn't implemented on Windows yet