In this Nov. 9, 2017, file photo people walk by Old Main on the Penn State University main campus in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Penn State University has suspended all university-affiliated travel to more than a dozen Middle East countries after an advisory issued Monday by the U.S. Department of State urged U.S. citizens to leave those countries due to safety risks.

In light of this advisory, Penn State has announced that as of Wednesday university-affiliated travel has been suspended to the following destinations until further notice: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel (including West Bank and Gaza), Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates (including Abu Dhabi and Dubai) and Yemen.

This suspension affects any travel to these destinations that has not yet departed from the United States.

Penn State Global Safety strongly advises faculty, staff and students who are planning upcoming travel to any other destinations in the Middle East (or other international travel) to stay informed about current events and closely monitor developments.

For those Penn Staters who are already abroad, any relevant communications or updates will be sent directly from Penn State Global to those faculty, staff or students.

Penn State Global Safety has announced the following advice for all travelers:

— Monitor communications from your airline for potential schedule changes, plan accordingly for associated disruptions and contact your airline with any questions about your flight status. If your flight is scheduled to travel through affected areas, please be aware that travel may be delayed, rerouted to alternate locations or canceled altogether. In some cases, travelers may need to wait several days for a new flight.

— Travelers with flights booked through Anthony Travel, the official travel partner for Penn State University, can contact Anthony Travel’s after-hours emergency agent-assisted support line at 1-888-669-3948 for assistance with cancellations, delays and/or changes.

— Follow U.S. Embassy directives, including any shelter-in-place instructions.

— Enroll any international travel in the U.S. Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive emergency alerts from the nearest U.S. embassy, even if the travel has already commenced.

Penn State travelers can contact Penn State Global Safety 24/7 on the emergency duty phone at 1-814-360-2829 via call/text/WhatsApp for urgent health, safety or security assistance abroad, or our international emergency assistance provider International SOS at 1-215-942-8478. For administrative or non-emergency issues, contact Global Safety at 1-814-863-8788 or email  globalsafety@psu.edu.