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American flight controllers are more and more seeking second jobs and calling in sick, as they continue to work unpaid amid the federal closure, the transport chief has stated.

"These professionals are becoming strained," the official informed a news outlet on the weekend, as certain aircraft were halted on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

After the government shut down on 1 October, flight controllers, who are considered essential workers, were told to keep doing their jobs without pay.

But some have been absent, causing terminals to stop or slow their flight operations, which has added to delays caused by weather and other issues.

Over 3,000 US flights were postponed on Sunday, and Duffy said he anticipates the circumstances to grow worse.

"I am seeing the pressure," he said in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had met with several controllers to listen to their worries firsthand.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there looking, 'Should I work for Uber, am I able to secure an alternative of earnings to cover expenses?'" he added.

Duffy further mentioned that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airports said travel would be held up due to a lack of workers - one of the highest since the closure started.

The American federal closure entered its 26th day on Sunday, rendering it the second most extended halt in the past.

He has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would reduce the number of aircraft in the air if there is a shortage of security staff.

In his interview, he declined to respond straightforwardly when asked if it was secure to fly in the United States, and instead issued a personal plea to controllers.

"I require my staff focused on the airspace, not on the monetary matters at their households," Duffy said.

On Sunday, some planes were grounded at LAX due to employee deficits, causing disruption at the fifth most active terminal in the country and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as additional travel extending upward to the city of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration notice was issued at 8:45 AM local time on Sunday. Many flights were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were delayed an average of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the FAA indicated DFW, the second most active airfield in the US, could encounter problems from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The FAA advised travelers in the state to check with airlines about updated departure times.

The situation comes ahead of the third match of the championship, which is scheduled in LA on Monday night, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest periods to travel by air in the United States.

Pressure on US air travel contributed to ending a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. Back then, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.

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

On that date, the former president, who at the period was in his initial presidency as president, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the government shutdown after 35 days.