diff --git a/altair/utils/_importers.py b/altair/utils/_importers.py
index 718fa9129..b7fa8a958 100644
--- a/altair/utils/_importers.py
+++ b/altair/utils/_importers.py
@@ -93,5 +93,5 @@ def pyarrow_available() -> bool:
     try:
         import_pyarrow_interchange()
         return True
-    except ImportError:
+    except (ImportError, RuntimeError):
         return False