diff --git a/automation/ceph-wffc.sh b/automation/ceph-wffc.sh
index aaa9e104f5..7df02525d3 100755
--- a/automation/ceph-wffc.sh
+++ b/automation/ceph-wffc.sh
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ export TARGET=k8s-1.32
 export RANDOM_CR=true
 export KUBEVIRT_STORAGE=rook-ceph-default
 export CEPH_WFFC=true
-export CDI_E2E_SKIP=Destructive
 export SNAPSHOT_SC=rook-ceph-block-wffc
 export BLOCK_SC=rook-ceph-block-wffc
 export CSICLONE_SC=rook-ceph-block-wffc
diff --git a/automation/ceph.sh b/automation/ceph.sh
index cdc35a5110..3c5ccc24b8 100755
--- a/automation/ceph.sh
+++ b/automation/ceph.sh
@@ -22,5 +22,4 @@ export TARGET=k8s-1.32
 #ensure no hard coded cdi cr in tests.
 export RANDOM_CR=true
 export KUBEVIRT_STORAGE=rook-ceph-default
-export CDI_E2E_SKIP=Destructive
 automation/test.sh
diff --git a/automation/destructive.sh b/automation/destructive.sh
index 11deb97bc0..721b239a34 100755
--- a/automation/destructive.sh
+++ b/automation/destructive.sh
@@ -21,5 +21,5 @@ set -ex
 export TARGET=k8s-1.33
 export KUBEVIRT_STORAGE=hpp
 export KUBEVIRT_DEPLOY_PROMETHEUS=true
-export CDI_E2E_FOCUS=Destructive
+export CDI_LABEL_FILTER=Destructive
 automation/test.sh
diff --git a/automation/istio.sh b/automation/istio.sh
index 0f4d631f39..478cbeef6e 100755
--- a/automation/istio.sh
+++ b/automation/istio.sh
@@ -20,6 +20,5 @@
 set -ex
 export TARGET=k8s-1.33
 export KUBEVIRT_STORAGE=hpp
-export CDI_E2E_SKIP=Destructive
 export KUBEVIRT_DEPLOY_ISTIO=true
 automation/test.sh
diff --git a/automation/latest-hpp.sh b/automation/latest-hpp.sh
index 24c43344b7..288d2b7ed4 100755
--- a/automation/latest-hpp.sh
+++ b/automation/latest-hpp.sh
@@ -20,5 +20,4 @@
 set -ex
 export TARGET=k8s-1.33
 export KUBEVIRT_STORAGE=hpp
-export CDI_E2E_SKIP=Destructive
 automation/test.sh
diff --git a/automation/nfs.sh b/automation/nfs.sh
index 7ab9365e74..2eda0b3d0f 100755
--- a/automation/nfs.sh
+++ b/automation/nfs.sh
@@ -22,5 +22,4 @@ export TARGET=k8s-1.33
 export KUBEVIRT_DEPLOY_NFS_CSI=true
 export KUBEVIRT_STORAGE=nfs
 export KUBEVIRT_NFS_DIR=${KUBEVIRT_NFS_DIR:-/var/lib/containers/nfs-data}
-export CDI_E2E_SKIP=Destructive
 automation/test.sh
diff --git a/automation/non-csi-hpp.sh b/automation/non-csi-hpp.sh
index fe2de5d123..7c03491633 100755
--- a/automation/non-csi-hpp.sh
+++ b/automation/non-csi-hpp.sh
@@ -21,5 +21,4 @@ set -ex
 export TARGET=k8s-1.33
 export KUBEVIRT_STORAGE=hpp
 export HPP_CLASSIC=true
-export CDI_E2E_SKIP=Destructive
 automation/test.sh
diff --git a/automation/previous-hpp.sh b/automation/previous-hpp.sh
index d0f8e1717d..2c49284651 100755
--- a/automation/previous-hpp.sh
+++ b/automation/previous-hpp.sh
@@ -21,5 +21,4 @@ set -ex
 export TARGET=k8s-1.32
 export KUBEVIRT_STORAGE=hpp
 export KUBEVIRT_DEPLOY_PROMETHEUS=true
-export CDI_E2E_SKIP=Destructive
 automation/test.sh
diff --git a/automation/test.sh b/automation/test.sh
index 3a9e2f8782..ac0b42ded3 100755
--- a/automation/test.sh
+++ b/automation/test.sh
@@ -76,6 +76,9 @@ kubectl() { cluster-up/kubectl.sh "$@"; }
 
 export CDI_NAMESPACE="${CDI_NAMESPACE:-cdi}"
 
+# Skip destructive tests by default
+export CDI_LABEL_FILTER="${CDI_LABEL_FILTER:-!Destructive}"
+
 make cluster-down
 # Create .bazelrc to use remote cache
 cat >ci.bazelrc <<EOF
@@ -108,7 +111,7 @@ fi
 echo "Nodes are ready:"
 kubectl get nodes
 
-if [ "$KUBEVIRT_STORAGE" == "hpp" ] && [ "$CDI_E2E_FOCUS" == "Destructive" ]; then
+if [ "$KUBEVIRT_STORAGE" == "hpp" ] && [ "$CDI_LABEL_FILTER" == "Destructive" ]; then
   kubectl apply -f tests/manifests/snapshot
 fi
 
diff --git a/automation/upgrade.sh b/automation/upgrade.sh
index e3bdd71a52..34a34e975c 100755
--- a/automation/upgrade.sh
+++ b/automation/upgrade.sh
@@ -21,5 +21,4 @@ set -ex
 export TARGET=k8s-1.33
 export KUBEVIRT_STORAGE=hpp
 export MULTI_UPGRADE=true
-export CDI_E2E_SKIP=Destructive
 automation/test.sh
diff --git a/tests/cdiconfig_test.go b/tests/cdiconfig_test.go
index eee6af9229..b031bcfc62 100644
--- a/tests/cdiconfig_test.go
+++ b/tests/cdiconfig_test.go
@@ -528,30 +528,28 @@ var _ = Describe("CDI route config tests", Serial, func() {
 	})
 })
 
-var _ = Describe("CDIConfig instance management", Serial, func() {
+var _ = Describe("[Destructive] CDIConfig instance management", Label("Destructive"), Serial, func() {
 	f := framework.NewFramework("cdiconfig-test")
 
-	Context("[Destructive]", Serial, func() {
-		It("[test_id:4952]Should re-create the object if deleted", func() {
-			By("Verifying the object exists")
-			config, err := f.CdiClient.CdiV1beta1().CDIConfigs().Get(context.TODO(), common.ConfigName, metav1.GetOptions{})
-			Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
-			// Save the UID, so we can check it against a new one.
-			orgUID := config.GetUID()
-			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Original CDIConfig UID: %s\n", orgUID)
-			By("Deleting the object")
-			err = f.CdiClient.CdiV1beta1().CDIConfigs().Delete(context.TODO(), config.Name, metav1.DeleteOptions{})
-			Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+	It("[test_id:4952]Should re-create the object if deleted", func() {
+		By("Verifying the object exists")
+		config, err := f.CdiClient.CdiV1beta1().CDIConfigs().Get(context.TODO(), common.ConfigName, metav1.GetOptions{})
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+		// Save the UID, so we can check it against a new one.
+		orgUID := config.GetUID()
+		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Original CDIConfig UID: %s\n", orgUID)
+		By("Deleting the object")
+		err = f.CdiClient.CdiV1beta1().CDIConfigs().Delete(context.TODO(), config.Name, metav1.DeleteOptions{})
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 
-			Eventually(func() bool {
-				newConfig, err := f.CdiClient.CdiV1beta1().CDIConfigs().Get(context.TODO(), common.ConfigName, metav1.GetOptions{})
-				if err != nil {
-					return false
-				}
-				_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "New CDIConfig UID: %s\n", newConfig.GetUID())
-				return orgUID != newConfig.GetUID() && !apiequality.Semantic.DeepEqual(newConfig.Status, cdiv1.CDIConfigStatus{})
-			}, time.Second*30, time.Second).Should(BeTrue())
-		})
+		Eventually(func() bool {
+			newConfig, err := f.CdiClient.CdiV1beta1().CDIConfigs().Get(context.TODO(), common.ConfigName, metav1.GetOptions{})
+			if err != nil {
+				return false
+			}
+			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "New CDIConfig UID: %s\n", newConfig.GetUID())
+			return orgUID != newConfig.GetUID() && !apiequality.Semantic.DeepEqual(newConfig.Status, cdiv1.CDIConfigStatus{})
+		}, time.Second*30, time.Second).Should(BeTrue())
 	})
 })
 
diff --git a/tests/import_proxy_test.go b/tests/import_proxy_test.go
index 805d7894e3..d42eecd7e0 100644
--- a/tests/import_proxy_test.go
+++ b/tests/import_proxy_test.go
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Import Proxy tests", func() {
 		}, time.Second*60, time.Second).Should(BeTrue())
 	}
 
-	Context("[Destructive]", Serial, func() {
+	Context("[Destructive]", Label("Destructive"), Serial, func() {
 		DescribeTable("should", func(args importProxyTestArguments) {
 
 			now := time.Now()
diff --git a/tests/monitoring_test.go b/tests/monitoring_test.go
index 0ed2773bd1..ed93a910f2 100644
--- a/tests/monitoring_test.go
+++ b/tests/monitoring_test.go
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ const (
 	metricConsistentPollingTimeout = 2 * time.Minute
 )
 
-var _ = Describe("[Destructive] Monitoring Tests", Serial, func() {
+var _ = Describe("[Destructive] Monitoring Tests", Label("Destructive"), Serial, func() {
 	f := framework.NewFramework("monitoring-test")
 
 	var (
diff --git a/tests/operator_test.go b/tests/operator_test.go
index 4901d281f8..bd656c878c 100644
--- a/tests/operator_test.go
+++ b/tests/operator_test.go
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 var _ = Describe("ALL Operator tests", func() {
-	Context("[Destructive]", Serial, func() {
+	Context("[Destructive]", Label("Destructive"), Serial, func() {
 		var _ = Describe("Operator tests", func() {
 			f := framework.NewFramework("operator-test")