diff --git a/plotly/graph_objs/_figure.py b/plotly/graph_objs/_figure.py
index 99529b66f1a..4f7455a1825 100644
--- a/plotly/graph_objs/_figure.py
+++ b/plotly/graph_objs/_figure.py
@@ -12779,7 +12779,11 @@ def add_sankey(
         -------
         Figure
         """
-        from plotly.graph_objs import Sankey
+        if not hasattr(self, "_Sankey_cls"):
+            from plotly.graph_objs import Sankey
+
+            self._Sankey_cls = Sankey
+        Sankey = self._Sankey_cls
 
         new_trace = Sankey(
             arrangement=arrangement,