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American flight controllers are more and more looking for additional employment and calling in sick, as they continue to work without pay during the federal closure, the transport chief has stated.

"The controllers are wearing thin," the official informed Fox News on Sunday, as certain aircraft were halted on the California shoreline due to staffing shortages.

After the government shut down on 1 October, flight controllers, who are considered critical staff, were instructed to continue performing their jobs uncompensated.

But some have been absent, causing terminals to stop or slow their flight operations, which has added to setbacks caused by weather and additional factors.

Over 3,000 American flights were postponed on the weekend, and the secretary stated he anticipates the situation to grow worse.

"I observe the pressure," Duffy remarked in an interview on a weekend program, adding that he had met with multiple professionals to listen to their concerns firsthand.

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there looking, 'Should I work for Uber, can I find another source of earnings to make ends meet?'" he added.

The secretary added that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airfields indicated travel would be delayed due to a shortage of workers - among the peak after the shutdown started.

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

Duffy has consistently cautioned that aviation regulators would reduce the quantity of planes in the sky if there is a shortage of security staff.

In his interview, he would not answer directly when asked 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 flight paths, not on the monetary matters at their households," Duffy said.

On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to disruption at the fifth-busiest terminal in the nation and among the most crowded in the world, as well as other flights extending north to the city of Oakland.

The FAA notice went out at 8:45 AM local time on Sunday. Numerous trips were back on schedule by midday.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were postponed an mean of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the authority indicated DFW, the second most active airport in the US, could experience problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

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

The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the championship, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday night, and approximately four weeks before the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest times to travel by air in the United States.

Strain on American aviation helped end a federal closure in 2019. Back then, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and affected airline operations, including pilot training.

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

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