Nineteen University of California students, along with a team of archeologists, faculty and a parent, have been transported from Egypt since the U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for the region, university officials announced today (Feb. 1).

The group was taken to Barcelona and is expected to return to California later this week, university officials said.

"We are both happy and relieved that they have been delivered from what our overseas contacts described as an unstable situation," said University of California President Mark Yudof. "We have contingency plans in place for just these types of circumstance, and they worked.

"I personally want to thank all of the UC Education Abroad (UCEAP) staff, the Risk Management Services unit at UCOP and Risk Management staff on all the campuses; and also our partner IJET, our travel registry and security firm, which played a crucial role in this complex operation. All of these people worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of our travelers."

Among those removed were 19 students scheduled to start a semester abroad program on Jan. 31 at the American University in Cairo (AUC). In addition, an 11-member team of archeology students, faculty and staff from UCLA was on a dig 200 miles south of Cairo; all members of the team were transported out.

Because of the worldwide reach of the academic and research interests of UC, the university maintains a centralized travel insurance and assistance program out of the CFO Division – Office of Risk Services with the assistance of multiple vendors who provide medical and security assistance.

Following standard protocol, iJet organized secure transportation in country and provided safe haven while making arrangements for a charter flight out of Cairo for all members of the impacted UC community. Similar procedures have been employed in other world events, such as recent earthquakes in Chile and Haiti.