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US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for second jobs and calling in sick, as they continue to work unpaid amid the government shutdown, the transport chief has stated.

"The controllers are becoming strained," Sean Duffy informed Fox News on the weekend, as some flights were halted on the California shoreline due to staffing shortages.

Following the federal closure on 1 October, flight controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were told to continue performing their jobs uncompensated.

But a number have been missing, causing terminals to stop or slow their flight operations, which has added to setbacks due to climate and additional factors.

More than three thousand American flights were postponed on Sunday, and the secretary stated he anticipates the circumstances to deteriorate further.

"I observe the pressure," Duffy remarked in an discussion on a weekend program, noting that he had met with several controllers to hear their worries firsthand.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there looking, 'Can I drive Uber, can I find another source of earnings to make ends meet?'" he continued.

Duffy further mentioned that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airports said travel would be delayed due to a lack of employees - one of the highest after the shutdown began.

The American federal closure entered its twenty-sixth day on the weekend, making it the second-longest halt in history.

He has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would slow down the quantity of planes in the sky if there is a deficit of security staff.

In his interview, he would not answer straightforwardly when questioned if it was secure to fly in the US, and instead made a personal plea to the professionals.

"I need my controllers focused on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at their households," the official stated.

On Sunday, some planes were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, causing disruption at the fifth most active airport in the nation and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as other flights stretching upward to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The FAA alert went out at 8:45 AM local time on the weekend. Numerous trips were operating normally by midday.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were delayed an average of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the authority indicated DFW, the second most active airport in the US, could encounter difficulties from low staffing later in the day.

The FAA warned passengers in the state to check with carriers about updated flight schedules.

The issue precedes the third match of the World Series, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and about one month before the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest times to fly in the United States.

Strain on American aviation helped end a government shutdown in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and affected flight services, including pilot training.

It led several flight controllers to remain absent on the same day on 25 January 2019, briefly halting movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.

On that date, the former president, who at the period was in his initial presidency as leader, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the federal closure after thirty-five days.