Sam LaHood, a senior representative of the U.S. International Republican Institute and the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, has been prevented from leaving Egypt, State Department officials said Thursday.

LaHood, who directs the International Republican Institute's office in Egypt, went to the Cairo airport on Saturday to fly somewhere "in the region," said an institute official with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

An airport official told him he was banned from traveling outside Egypt, the official said, though LaHood was not told why.

The incident comes amid heightened tensions between Egyptian authorities and several international non-governmental organizations that work in Egypt.