diff --git a/diskimage_builder/elements/base/pre-install.d/03-baseline-tools b/diskimage_builder/elements/base/pre-install.d/03-baseline-tools
index 712b33cf..0d47ac9b 100755
--- a/diskimage_builder/elements/base/pre-install.d/03-baseline-tools
+++ b/diskimage_builder/elements/base/pre-install.d/03-baseline-tools
@@ -12,6 +12,6 @@ case $DISTRO_NAME in
         # Note: add-apt-repository would be nice for RPM platforms too - so when we
         # need something like it, create a wrapper in dpkg/bin and fedora/bin.
         apt-get -y update
-        install-packages software-properties-common
+        install-packages software-properties-common apt-transport-https
         ;;
 esac
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/apt-transport-https-e4856cb9e2f8422c.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/apt-transport-https-e4856cb9e2f8422c.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ece609c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/apt-transport-https-e4856cb9e2f8422c.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+update:
+  - |
+    Add ``apt-transport-https`` package as a base dependency for Debuntu images.