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US air traffic controllers are more and more seeking additional employment and calling in sick, as they remain on duty without pay amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has stated.

"These professionals are becoming strained," the official told Fox News on Sunday, as certain aircraft were grounded on the Californian coast due to staffing shortages.

After the government shut down on October 1st, flight controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were told to continue performing their duties without pay.

But some have been missing, leading terminals to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has added to delays due to weather and other issues.

More than 3,000 American flights were delayed on Sunday, and the secretary stated he anticipates the circumstances to deteriorate further.

"I am seeing the pressure," Duffy said in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had met with multiple professionals to hear their concerns directly.

"They are pursuing side jobs, they're out there looking, 'Should I drive Uber, am I able to find an alternative of income to make ends meet?'" he added.

Duffy further mentioned that on Saturday twenty-two notifications at airfields said flights would be delayed due to a shortage of employees - one of the highest since the closure started.

The American federal closure reached its 26th day on Sunday, rendering it the second-longest halt in history.

He has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would reduce the number of planes in the air if there is a deficit of safety personnel.

In his conversation, he declined to respond straightforwardly when questioned if it was secure to travel by air in the US, and instead issued a personal plea to controllers.

"I need my controllers concentrating on the airspace, not on the finances at their households," Duffy said.

On that day, some planes were grounded at LAX 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 stretching north to the metropolis of Oakland.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 08:45 in the morning on the weekend. Many flights were operating normally by midday.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were delayed an average of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airport in the country, could encounter difficulties from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The FAA advised travelers in the state to check with carriers about revised departure times.

The issue precedes the third match of the championship, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest periods to travel by air 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 disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.

It led several air traffic controllers to remain absent on the identical date on January 25, 2019, temporarily stopping travel at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

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