An Etihad Airways airliner travelling from Egypt to the UAE was diverted to an air base in Dubai on Sunday for "security reasons," the airline said, the second incident of its kind in one week.

It did not specify the security reasons but the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya channel said it was a bomb threat.

Etihad said the Airbus A321 was flying from Cairo to Abu Dhabi when it was diverted to Al Minhad air base in Dubai. It said the 128 passengers will be subject to security screening before allowing them to board buses to Abu Dhabi.

Last week, an Air Arabia flight from Kuwait to the UAE city of Sharjah was diverted to Al Menhad air base after its crew reported that a passenger had claimed that the aircraft would explode.

The report turned out to be a false alarm.  - Reuters