diff --git a/pramen/core/src/main/scala/za/co/absa/pramen/core/runner/PipelineSparkSessionBuilder.scala b/pramen/core/src/main/scala/za/co/absa/pramen/core/runner/PipelineSparkSessionBuilder.scala
index 93f261b57..72d1ccb63 100644
--- a/pramen/core/src/main/scala/za/co/absa/pramen/core/runner/PipelineSparkSessionBuilder.scala
+++ b/pramen/core/src/main/scala/za/co/absa/pramen/core/runner/PipelineSparkSessionBuilder.scala
@@ -64,7 +64,16 @@ object PipelineSparkSessionBuilder {
       case (builder, (key, value)) => builder.config(key, value)
     }
 
-    val spark = sparkSessionBuilderWithExtraOptApplied.getOrCreate()
+    val isHiveSupportRequired = extraOptions.exists(_._1.contains("hive"))
+
+    val spark = if (isHiveSupportRequired) {
+      sparkSessionBuilderWithExtraOptApplied
+        .enableHiveSupport()
+        .getOrCreate()
+    } else {
+      sparkSessionBuilderWithExtraOptApplied
+        .getOrCreate()
+    }
 
     applyHadoopConfig(spark, conf)
   }