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American flight controllers are increasingly seeking second jobs and calling in sick, as they remain on duty unpaid amid the federal closure, the transport chief has announced.

"The controllers are wearing thin," Sean Duffy told a news outlet on Sunday, as certain aircraft were grounded on the Californian coast due to staffing shortages.

After the government shut down on 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are considered essential workers, were told to keep doing their duties uncompensated.

But some have been missing, causing airports to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated setbacks due to climate and other issues.

Over three thousand US flights were delayed on the weekend, and Duffy said he expects the situation to grow worse.

"I observe the stress," he remarked in an discussion on a weekend program, noting that he had met with multiple professionals to hear their concerns directly.

"They are pursuing side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I work for Uber, can I find another source of income to make ends meet?'" he continued.

The secretary further mentioned that on the previous day 22 alerts at airports indicated flights would be held up due to a shortage of workers - one of the highest since the shutdown began.

The US government shutdown entered its twenty-sixth day on Sunday, making it the second-longest shutdown in history.

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

In his conversation, he would not answer directly when questioned if it was safe to travel by air in the United States, and instead made a personal plea to the professionals.

"I need my staff focused on the flight paths, not on the finances at their households," Duffy stated.

On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to interruption at the fifth-busiest terminal in the nation and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as additional travel extending upward to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert was issued at 08:45 in the morning on the weekend. Numerous trips were operating normally before noon.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were delayed an mean of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the FAA indicated DFW, the second most active airport in the US, could experience difficulties from low staffing later in the day.

The agency warned passengers in the state to check with carriers about revised departure times.

The situation comes ahead of the third match of the championship, which is due to be played in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break, among the peak periods to travel by air in the United States.

Pressure on American aviation contributed to ending a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. Back then, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including aviator instruction.

It led a number of flight controllers to stay home on the same day on January 25, 2019, briefly halting movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.

On that date, Donald Trump, who at the time was in his initial presidency as president, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the government shutdown after thirty-five days.