Respiratory infections, like the current pandemic SARS-CoV-2 virus, target the epithelial cells in the respiratory tract. However, alveolar macrophages (AMs) are tissue-resident macrophages located within the alveoli of the lung and they play a key role in the early phases of an immune response to respiratory infections. We expect that AMs are the first immune cells to encounter the SARS-CoV-2 and therefore their reaction to SARS-CoV-2 infection will have a profound impact upon the outcome of the infection. Interferons (IFNs) are antiviral cytokines and the first cytokine produced upon viral infection. Here, we challenge AMs with SARS-CoV-2 and to our surprise find that the AMs are incapable of recognising SARS-CoV-2 and produce IFN. This is in contrast to respiratory pathogens, such as influenza A virus and Sendai virus. Callenge of AMs with those viruses resulted in a robust IFN response. The absence of IFN production by AMs upon challenge could explain the initial asymptotic phase of SARS-CoV-2 infections and argues against the AMs as the source of proinflamatory cytokines later in infection.