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US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for second jobs and reporting ill, as they continue to work unpaid amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has stated.

"The controllers are wearing thin," Sean Duffy informed Fox News on the weekend, as some flights were halted on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

Following the federal closure on October 1st, flight controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were told to keep doing their duties uncompensated.

But a number have been absent, leading terminals to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has exacerbated setbacks due to weather and other issues.

More than three thousand American flights were delayed on the weekend, and the secretary stated he expects the circumstances to grow worse.

"I am seeing the stress," Duffy said in an interview on a weekend program, adding that he had spoken to multiple professionals to hear their concerns directly.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there looking, 'Can I drive Uber, am I able to secure an alternative of earnings to cover expenses?'" he continued.

The secretary further mentioned that on the previous day 22 alerts at airports indicated flights would be delayed due to a shortage of employees - among the peak since the closure began.

The American federal closure entered its 26th day on the weekend, making it the second-longest halt in the past.

He has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would reduce the quantity of aircraft in the sky if there is a deficit of safety personnel.

In his conversation, he declined to respond directly when asked if it was safe to fly in the United States, and instead issued a personal plea to the professionals.

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

On Sunday, certain flights were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to disruption at the fifth most active terminal in the nation and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as additional travel stretching north to the city of Oakland, California.

The FAA notice went out at 08:45 in the morning on the weekend. Numerous trips were operating normally by midday.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were delayed an mean of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the FAA said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the US, could experience problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

The agency advised travelers in California to check with airlines about updated flight schedules.

The issue comes ahead of the third match of the World Series, which is scheduled in LA on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break, among the peak periods to travel by air in the US.

Pressure on US air travel contributed to ending a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including pilot training.

It led a number of air traffic controllers to remain absent on the identical date on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.

That same day, the former president, who at the period was in his first term as president, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, bringing an end to the government shutdown after 35 days.