diff --git a/ci-operator/config/openshift-service-mesh/sail-operator/openshift-service-mesh-sail-operator-main__ocp-4.22.yaml b/ci-operator/config/openshift-service-mesh/sail-operator/openshift-service-mesh-sail-operator-main__ocp-4.22.yaml
index eecaea3f16a9e..7d56b50b5ccd2 100644
--- a/ci-operator/config/openshift-service-mesh/sail-operator/openshift-service-mesh-sail-operator-main__ocp-4.22.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/config/openshift-service-mesh/sail-operator/openshift-service-mesh-sail-operator-main__ocp-4.22.yaml
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ tests:
     env:
       COMPUTE_NODE_TYPE: r6g.xlarge
       CONTROL_PLANE_INSTANCE_TYPE: r6g.xlarge
+      GINKGO_LABEL_FILTER: '!tls-profile'
       HUB: quay.io/sail-dev
       INSTALLATION_METHOD: helm
       MAISTRA_BUILDER_IMAGE: registry.istio.io/testing/build-tools:master-6db0b4c7fbe345bd531a07fbcff13877dc9cd801
@@ -133,6 +134,7 @@ tests:
     env:
       COMPUTE_NODE_TYPE: r6g.xlarge
       CONTROL_PLANE_INSTANCE_TYPE: r6g.xlarge
+      GINKGO_LABEL_FILTER: '!tls-profile'
       HUB: quay.io/sail-dev
       INSTALLATION_METHOD: helm
       MAISTRA_BUILDER_IMAGE: registry.istio.io/testing/build-tools:master-6db0b4c7fbe345bd531a07fbcff13877dc9cd801
diff --git a/ci-operator/config/openshift-service-mesh/sail-operator/openshift-service-mesh-sail-operator-main__ocp-4.23.yaml b/ci-operator/config/openshift-service-mesh/sail-operator/openshift-service-mesh-sail-operator-main__ocp-4.23.yaml
index 016d046bd80e7..4eefc78a179de 100644
--- a/ci-operator/config/openshift-service-mesh/sail-operator/openshift-service-mesh-sail-operator-main__ocp-4.23.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/config/openshift-service-mesh/sail-operator/openshift-service-mesh-sail-operator-main__ocp-4.23.yaml
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ tests:
   steps:
     cluster_profile: ossm-aws
     env:
+      GINKGO_LABEL_FILTER: '!tls-profile'
       HUB: quay.io/sail-dev
       INSTALLATION_METHOD: helm
       MAISTRA_BUILDER_IMAGE: registry.istio.io/testing/build-tools:master-63fd6eec6f3df5a3ed4e190e60153ef3425f66b4
@@ -55,6 +56,7 @@ tests:
   steps:
     cluster_profile: ossm-aws
     env:
+      GINKGO_LABEL_FILTER: '!tls-profile'
       HUB: quay.io/sail-dev
       INSTALLATION_METHOD: helm
       MAISTRA_BUILDER_IMAGE: registry.istio.io/testing/build-tools:master-63fd6eec6f3df5a3ed4e190e60153ef3425f66b4
diff --git a/ci-operator/step-registry/servicemesh/sail-operator/e2e-ocp/servicemesh-sail-operator-e2e-ocp-commands.sh b/ci-operator/step-registry/servicemesh/sail-operator/e2e-ocp/servicemesh-sail-operator-e2e-ocp-commands.sh
index 9783571f457b6..49dd64337ac89 100644
--- a/ci-operator/step-registry/servicemesh/sail-operator/e2e-ocp/servicemesh-sail-operator-e2e-ocp-commands.sh
+++ b/ci-operator/step-registry/servicemesh/sail-operator/e2e-ocp/servicemesh-sail-operator-e2e-ocp-commands.sh
@@ -136,6 +136,7 @@ run_tests() {
     export HUB=\"${HUB:-quay.io/sail-dev}\"
     export USE_INTERNAL_REGISTRY=\"false\"
     export PR_NUMBER=\"${PULL_NUMBER:-}\"
+    export GINKGO_LABEL_FILTER=\"${GINKGO_LABEL_FILTER:-}\"
     ${VERSIONS_YAML_CONFIG:-}
     oc version
     cd /work
diff --git a/ci-operator/step-registry/servicemesh/sail-operator/e2e-ocp/servicemesh-sail-operator-e2e-ocp-ref.yaml b/ci-operator/step-registry/servicemesh/sail-operator/e2e-ocp/servicemesh-sail-operator-e2e-ocp-ref.yaml
index ee3fdb4ff6d25..b44bdb1c8129f 100644
--- a/ci-operator/step-registry/servicemesh/sail-operator/e2e-ocp/servicemesh-sail-operator-e2e-ocp-ref.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/step-registry/servicemesh/sail-operator/e2e-ocp/servicemesh-sail-operator-e2e-ocp-ref.yaml
@@ -41,5 +41,9 @@ ref:
     default: "quay.io/sail-dev"
     documentation: |-
       Container registry hub to use for pushing images when CI=true
+  - name: GINKGO_LABEL_FILTER
+    default: ""
+    documentation: |-
+      Optional Ginkgo label filter expression to select/skip tests (e.g. "!tls-profile")
   documentation: |-
     Executes sail operator e2e tests (with default values against product operator (ossm operator)). Ensure that your pipeline has `maistra-builder` as the build root, since `from: src` is used here and the script expects the sail repository to be in the root directory.