A Milan-bound Germanwings plane was evacuated on Sunday after authorities received a bomb threat, the Associated Press reported.

Flight 826 was all set to depart from Cologne-Bonn airport Sunday evening when federal police received the bomb threat with the plane as the target, Germanwings said.

The pilot, who was already taxiing the plane towards the runway, received the alert from the tower and diverted the plane to an area of the airport designated for evacuations, the AP reported.

All passengers and crew exited the Airbus A320, and police and a K-9 unit searched the aircraft.

Germanwings, a budget airline operated by Germany's Lufthansa airline, was thrusted into the international spotlight when one of its planes crashed into the French Alps last month, killing all 150 people onboard.

The co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, who had a history of mental illness, is believed to have deliberately caused the crash after locking the pilot out of the cockpit. An investigation into the tragedy is ongoing.

Details about Sunday's bomb threat were not immediately available.