diff --git a/mail/e-http-request.c b/mail/e-http-request.c
index 3bc4878..734496b 100644
--- a/mail/e-http-request.c
+++ b/mail/e-http-request.c
@@ -217,6 +217,7 @@ handle_http_request (GSimpleAsyncResult *res,
 	EMailImageLoadingPolicy image_policy;
 	gchar *uri_md5;
 	EMailFormatter *formatter;
+	EShell *shell;
 
 	const gchar *user_cache_dir;
 	CamelDataCache *cache;
@@ -316,6 +317,13 @@ handle_http_request (GSimpleAsyncResult *res,
 		}
 	}
 
+	/* If the item is not in the cache and Evolution is in offline mode then
+	 * quit regardless any image loading policy */
+	shell = e_shell_get_default ();
+	if (!e_shell_get_online (shell)) {
+		goto cleanup;
+	}
+
 	/* Item not found in cache, but image loading policy allows us to fetch
 	 * it from the interwebs */
 	image_policy = e_mail_formatter_get_image_loading_policy (formatter);
