diff --git a/cosmos/constants.py b/cosmos/constants.py
index 57e570fa8c..148f9cc146 100644
--- a/cosmos/constants.py
+++ b/cosmos/constants.py
@@ -4,8 +4,11 @@
 from typing import Callable, Dict
 
 import aenum
+import airflow
 from packaging.version import Version
 
+AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
+
 BIGQUERY_PROFILE_TYPE = "bigquery"
 DBT_PROFILE_PATH = Path(os.path.expanduser("~")).joinpath(".dbt/profiles.yml")
 DBT_PROJECT_FILENAME = "dbt_project.yml"
diff --git a/cosmos/core/graph/entities.py b/cosmos/core/graph/entities.py
index 9e6fe10eac..ed9407420e 100644
--- a/cosmos/core/graph/entities.py
+++ b/cosmos/core/graph/entities.py
@@ -3,17 +3,14 @@
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from typing import Any, Dict, List
 
-import airflow
 from packaging.version import Version
 
+from cosmos.constants import AIRFLOW_VERSION
 from cosmos.log import get_logger
 
 logger = get_logger(__name__)
 
 
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
-
-
 @dataclass
 class CosmosEntity:
     """
diff --git a/cosmos/listeners/dag_run_listener.py b/cosmos/listeners/dag_run_listener.py
index eb69d00c0f..4b73481845 100644
--- a/cosmos/listeners/dag_run_listener.py
+++ b/cosmos/listeners/dag_run_listener.py
@@ -3,20 +3,17 @@
 import hashlib
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
-from airflow import __version__ as airflow_version
 from airflow.listeners import hookimpl
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from airflow.models.dag import DAG
     from airflow.models.dagrun import DagRun
 
-from packaging import version
-
 from cosmos import telemetry
-from cosmos.constants import _AIRFLOW3_MAJOR_VERSION
+from cosmos.constants import _AIRFLOW3_MAJOR_VERSION, AIRFLOW_VERSION
 from cosmos.log import get_logger
 
-AIRFLOW_VERSION_MAJOR = version.parse(airflow_version).major
+AIRFLOW_VERSION_MAJOR = AIRFLOW_VERSION.major
 
 logger = get_logger(__name__)
 
diff --git a/cosmos/operators/_asynchronous/bigquery.py b/cosmos/operators/_asynchronous/bigquery.py
index 56c15b7fcb..f2dd407f32 100644
--- a/cosmos/operators/_asynchronous/bigquery.py
+++ b/cosmos/operators/_asynchronous/bigquery.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Sequence
 
-import airflow
-
 from cosmos.operators.base import _sanitize_xcom_key
 
 try:
@@ -23,12 +21,12 @@
 
 from cosmos import settings
 from cosmos.config import ProfileConfig
+from cosmos.constants import AIRFLOW_VERSION
 from cosmos.dataset import get_dataset_alias_name
 from cosmos.exceptions import CosmosValueError
 from cosmos.operators.local import AbstractDbtLocalBase
 from cosmos.settings import remote_target_path, remote_target_path_conn_id
 
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
 DEFAULT_PRODUCER_ASYNC_TASK_ID = "dbt_setup_async"
 
 
diff --git a/cosmos/operators/local.py b/cosmos/operators/local.py
index 496f982eec..2d0aa97744 100644
--- a/cosmos/operators/local.py
+++ b/cosmos/operators/local.py
@@ -15,11 +15,11 @@
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Callable, Literal, Sequence
 from urllib.parse import urlparse
 
-import airflow
 import jinja2
 from airflow import DAG
 from airflow.exceptions import AirflowException, AirflowSkipException
 from airflow.models.taskinstance import TaskInstance
+from packaging.version import Version
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:  # pragma: no cover
     try:
@@ -27,9 +27,7 @@
     except ImportError:
         from airflow.utils.context import Context  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
 
-from airflow.version import version as airflow_version
 from attrs import define
-from packaging.version import Version
 
 from cosmos import cache, settings
 
@@ -46,6 +44,7 @@
 )
 from cosmos.constants import (
     _AIRFLOW3_MAJOR_VERSION,
+    AIRFLOW_VERSION,
     DBT_DEPENDENCIES_FILE_NAMES,
     FILE_SCHEME_AIRFLOW_DEFAULT_CONN_ID_MAP,
     InvocationMode,
@@ -117,8 +116,6 @@
     _sanitize_xcom_key,
 )
 
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
-
 logger = get_logger(__name__)
 
 
@@ -323,7 +320,7 @@ def _configure_remote_target_path() -> tuple[Path | ObjectStoragePath, str] | tu
         if not settings.AIRFLOW_IO_AVAILABLE:
             raise CosmosValueError(
                 f"You're trying to specify remote target path {target_path_str}, but the required "
-                f"Object Storage feature is unavailable in Airflow version {airflow_version}. Please upgrade to "
+                f"Object Storage feature is unavailable in Airflow version {AIRFLOW_VERSION}. Please upgrade to "
                 "Airflow 2.8 or later."
             )
 
diff --git a/cosmos/operators/watcher.py b/cosmos/operators/watcher.py
index 79617279d4..8e9a6a6337 100644
--- a/cosmos/operators/watcher.py
+++ b/cosmos/operators/watcher.py
@@ -9,9 +9,6 @@
 from threading import Lock
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Callable, List, Union
 
-import airflow
-from packaging.version import Version
-
 from cosmos._triggers.watcher import WatcherTrigger, _parse_compressed_xcom
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:  # pragma: no cover
@@ -33,8 +30,10 @@
 except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
     from airflow.operators.empty import EmptyOperator  # type: ignore[no-redef]
 
+from packaging.version import Version
+
 from cosmos.config import ProfileConfig
-from cosmos.constants import PRODUCER_WATCHER_TASK_ID, InvocationMode
+from cosmos.constants import AIRFLOW_VERSION, PRODUCER_WATCHER_TASK_ID, InvocationMode
 from cosmos.operators.base import (
     DbtRunMixin,
     DbtSeedMixin,
@@ -46,9 +45,6 @@
     DbtSourceLocalOperator,
 )
 
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
-
-
 try:
     from dbt_common.events.base_types import EventMsg
 except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
diff --git a/cosmos/plugin/airflow3.py b/cosmos/plugin/airflow3.py
index 91b25d117e..8a0d46f5f1 100644
--- a/cosmos/plugin/airflow3.py
+++ b/cosmos/plugin/airflow3.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 from cosmos.plugin.snippets import IFRAME_SCRIPT
 
 # Airflow version gating: External views feature for the plugins used here (CosmosAF3Plugin) exist only in >= 3.1
+# Note: We compute AIRFLOW_VERSION locally here (not from constants) so that tests can patch airflow.__version__ and reload this module
 AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
 
 
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index 502ccba1d9..ec067649a6 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -1,13 +1,11 @@
 import json
 from unittest.mock import patch
 
-import airflow
 import pytest
 from airflow.models.connection import Connection
 from packaging.version import Version
 
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
-
+from cosmos.constants import AIRFLOW_VERSION
 
 if AIRFLOW_VERSION >= Version("3.1"):
     # Change introduced in Airflow 3.1.0
diff --git a/tests/dbt/test_graph.py b/tests/dbt/test_graph.py
index a6d522a456..695c8026c0 100644
--- a/tests/dbt/test_graph.py
+++ b/tests/dbt/test_graph.py
@@ -12,15 +12,14 @@
 from subprocess import PIPE, Popen
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
-import airflow
 import pytest
 from airflow.models import Variable
-from packaging.version import Version
 
 from cosmos import settings
 from cosmos.config import CosmosConfigException, ExecutionConfig, ProfileConfig, ProjectConfig, RenderConfig
 from cosmos.constants import (
     _AIRFLOW3_MAJOR_VERSION,
+    AIRFLOW_VERSION,
     DBT_LOG_FILENAME,
     DBT_TARGET_DIR_NAME,
     DbtResourceType,
@@ -51,8 +50,6 @@
 SAMPLE_DBT_LS_OUTPUT = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "sample/sample_dbt_ls.txt"
 SOURCE_RENDERING_BEHAVIOR = SourceRenderingBehavior(os.getenv("SOURCE_RENDERING_BEHAVIOR", "none"))
 
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
-
 if AIRFLOW_VERSION.major >= _AIRFLOW3_MAJOR_VERSION:
     object_storage_path = "airflow.sdk.ObjectStoragePath"
 else:
diff --git a/tests/listeners/test_dag_run_listener.py b/tests/listeners/test_dag_run_listener.py
index cc94257c91..5ad94430b5 100644
--- a/tests/listeners/test_dag_run_listener.py
+++ b/tests/listeners/test_dag_run_listener.py
@@ -5,21 +5,20 @@
 from unittest.mock import patch
 
 import pytest
-from airflow import __version__ as airflow_version
 from airflow.models import DAG, DagRun
 from airflow.utils.state import State
-from packaging import version
+from packaging.version import Version
 
 from cosmos import DbtRunLocalOperator, ProfileConfig, ProjectConfig
 from cosmos.airflow.dag import DbtDag
 from cosmos.airflow.task_group import DbtTaskGroup
+from cosmos.constants import AIRFLOW_VERSION
 from cosmos.listeners.dag_run_listener import on_dag_run_failed, on_dag_run_success, total_cosmos_tasks
 from cosmos.profiles import PostgresUserPasswordProfileMapping
 
 DBT_ROOT_PATH = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "dev/dags/dbt"
 DBT_PROJECT_NAME = "jaffle_shop"
 
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = version.parse(airflow_version)
 AIRFLOW_VERSION_MAJOR = AIRFLOW_VERSION.major
 
 profile_config = ProfileConfig(
@@ -83,7 +82,7 @@ def test_not_cosmos_dag():
 
 
 def create_dag_run(dag: DAG, run_id: str, run_after: datetime) -> DagRun:
-    if AIRFLOW_VERSION < version.Version("3.0"):
+    if AIRFLOW_VERSION < Version("3.0"):
         # Airflow 2 and 3.0
         dag_run = dag.create_dagrun(
             state=State.NONE,
@@ -133,7 +132,7 @@ def create_dag_run(dag: DAG, run_id: str, run_after: datetime) -> DagRun:
 
 
 @pytest.mark.skipif(
-    AIRFLOW_VERSION >= version.Version("3.1.0"),
+    AIRFLOW_VERSION >= Version("3.1.0"),
     reason="TODO: Fix create_dag_run to work with AF 3.1 and remove this skip.",
 )
 @pytest.mark.integration
@@ -161,7 +160,7 @@ def test_on_dag_run_success(mock_emit_usage_metrics_if_enabled, caplog):
 
 
 @pytest.mark.skipif(
-    AIRFLOW_VERSION >= version.Version("3.1.0"), reason="TODO: Fix create_dag_run to work with and remove this skip."
+    AIRFLOW_VERSION >= Version("3.1.0"), reason="TODO: Fix create_dag_run to work with and remove this skip."
 )
 @pytest.mark.integration
 @patch("cosmos.listeners.dag_run_listener.telemetry.emit_usage_metrics_if_enabled")
diff --git a/tests/operators/_asynchronous/test_base.py b/tests/operators/_asynchronous/test_base.py
index 71b28cfaad..6810daf20a 100644
--- a/tests/operators/_asynchronous/test_base.py
+++ b/tests/operators/_asynchronous/test_base.py
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, Mock, mock_open, patch
 
-import airflow
 import pytest
 from packaging.version import Version
 
 from cosmos.config import ProfileConfig
+from cosmos.constants import AIRFLOW_VERSION
 from cosmos.hooks.subprocess import FullOutputSubprocessResult
 from cosmos.operators._asynchronous import SetupAsyncOperator, TeardownAsyncOperator
 from cosmos.operators._asynchronous.base import DbtRunAirflowAsyncFactoryOperator, _create_async_operator_class
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 from cosmos.operators._asynchronous.databricks import DbtRunAirflowAsyncDatabricksOperator
 from cosmos.operators.local import DbtRunLocalOperator
 
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
-
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "profile_type, dbt_class, expected_operator_class",
diff --git a/tests/operators/test_virtualenv.py b/tests/operators/test_virtualenv.py
index 2c25a1aaf2..560c75999c 100644
--- a/tests/operators/test_virtualenv.py
+++ b/tests/operators/test_virtualenv.py
@@ -6,21 +6,18 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
-import airflow
 import pytest
 from airflow.models import DAG
 from airflow.models.connection import Connection
 from packaging.version import Version
 
 from cosmos.config import ProfileConfig
-from cosmos.constants import _AIRFLOW3_MAJOR_VERSION, InvocationMode
+from cosmos.constants import _AIRFLOW3_MAJOR_VERSION, AIRFLOW_VERSION, InvocationMode
 from cosmos.exceptions import CosmosValueError
 from cosmos.operators.virtualenv import DbtCloneVirtualenvOperator, DbtVirtualenvBaseOperator
 from cosmos.profiles import PostgresUserPasswordProfileMapping
 from tests.utils import test_dag as run_test_dag
 
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
-
 DBT_PROJ_DIR = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "dev/dags/dbt/jaffle_shop"
 
 DAGS_FOLDER = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "dev/dags/"
diff --git a/tests/test_async_example_dag.py b/tests/test_async_example_dag.py
index 5d70af6a64..175e3b692b 100644
--- a/tests/test_async_example_dag.py
+++ b/tests/test_async_example_dag.py
@@ -16,12 +16,10 @@
     from functools import lru_cache as cache
 
 
-import airflow
 import pytest
 from airflow.models.dagbag import DagBag
 from airflow.utils.db import create_default_connections
 from airflow.utils.session import provide_session
-from packaging.version import Version
 
 EXAMPLE_DAGS_DIR = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "dev/dags"
 ALL_FILES_TO_IGNORE = [
@@ -29,7 +27,6 @@
 ]
 
 AIRFLOW_IGNORE_FILE = EXAMPLE_DAGS_DIR / ".airflowignore"
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
 
 
 @provide_session
diff --git a/tests/test_example_dags.py b/tests/test_example_dags.py
index 9685c29ebc..04e9c3226f 100644
--- a/tests/test_example_dags.py
+++ b/tests/test_example_dags.py
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
     from functools import lru_cache as cache
 
 
-import airflow
 import pytest
 from airflow.models.dagbag import DagBag
 from airflow.utils.db import create_default_connections
@@ -19,14 +18,13 @@
 from dbt.version import get_installed_version as get_dbt_version
 from packaging.version import Version
 
-from cosmos.constants import PARTIALLY_SUPPORTED_AIRFLOW_VERSIONS
+from cosmos.constants import AIRFLOW_VERSION, PARTIALLY_SUPPORTED_AIRFLOW_VERSIONS
 
 from . import utils as test_utils
 
 EXAMPLE_DAGS_DIR = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "dev/dags"
 AIRFLOW_IGNORE_FILE = EXAMPLE_DAGS_DIR / ".airflowignore"
 DBT_VERSION = Version(get_dbt_version().to_version_string()[1:])
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
 KUBERNETES_DAGS = ["jaffle_shop_kubernetes"]
 
 MIN_VER_DAG_FILE: dict[str, list[str]] = {
diff --git a/tests/test_log.py b/tests/test_log.py
index c6823c1f6f..8cd102de55 100644
--- a/tests/test_log.py
+++ b/tests/test_log.py
@@ -1,13 +1,9 @@
-import airflow
 import pytest
-from packaging.version import Version
 
 import cosmos.log
 from cosmos.log import CosmosRichLogger, get_logger
 from cosmos.provider_info import get_provider_info
 
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = Version(airflow.__version__)
-
 
 def test_get_logger(monkeypatch):
     monkeypatch.setattr(cosmos.log, "rich_logging", False)
diff --git a/tests/utils.py b/tests/utils.py
index df5960c79a..02bf6bc29c 100644
--- a/tests/utils.py
+++ b/tests/utils.py
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 from typing import Any
 
 import sqlalchemy
-from airflow import __version__ as airflow_version
 from airflow.configuration import secrets_backend_list
 from airflow.exceptions import AirflowSkipException
 from airflow.models.dag import DAG
@@ -22,7 +21,7 @@
 from packaging.version import Version
 from sqlalchemy.orm.session import Session
 
-AIRFLOW_VERSION = version.parse(airflow_version)
+from cosmos.constants import AIRFLOW_VERSION
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)