diff --git a/airflow/decorators/base.py b/airflow/decorators/base.py
index 2594ec23995f4..1a4bc06253895 100644
--- a/airflow/decorators/base.py
+++ b/airflow/decorators/base.py
@@ -523,7 +523,8 @@ def __attrs_post_init__(self):
 
     def _expand_mapped_kwargs(self, context: Context, session: Session) -> tuple[Mapping[str, Any], set[int]]:
         # We only use op_kwargs_expand_input so this must always be empty.
-        assert self.expand_input is EXPAND_INPUT_EMPTY
+        if self.expand_input is not EXPAND_INPUT_EMPTY:
+            raise AssertionError(f"unexpected expand_input: {self.expand_input}")
         op_kwargs, resolved_oids = super()._expand_mapped_kwargs(context, session)
         return {"op_kwargs": op_kwargs}, resolved_oids