diff --git a/src/Composer/Package/Loader/RootPackageLoader.php b/src/Composer/Package/Loader/RootPackageLoader.php
index c47d715a0..2e603871d 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Package/Loader/RootPackageLoader.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Package/Loader/RootPackageLoader.php
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 namespace Composer\Package\Loader;
 
 use Composer\Package\BasePackage;
+use Composer\Package\AliasPackage;
 use Composer\Config;
 use Composer\Factory;
 use Composer\Package\Version\VersionParser;
@@ -66,6 +67,10 @@ class RootPackageLoader extends ArrayLoader
 
         $package = parent::load($config, $class);
 
+        if ($package instanceof AliasPackage) {
+            $package = $package->getAliasOf();
+        }
+
         $aliases = array();
         $stabilityFlags = array();
         $references = array();