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US air traffic controllers are more and more seeking additional employment and reporting ill, as they remain on duty unpaid during the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has announced.

"The controllers are becoming strained," the official told a news outlet on Sunday, as certain aircraft were halted 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 continue performing their duties without pay.

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

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

"I am seeing the stress," Duffy said in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had met with several controllers to hear their worries directly.

"They are pursuing side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I drive Uber, am I able to find another source of income to cover expenses?'" he continued.

The secretary added that on Saturday 22 alerts at airports indicated flights would be held up due to a shortage of employees - one of the highest since the shutdown started.

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

Duffy has consistently cautioned that flight authorities would slow down the quantity of planes in the air if there is a deficit of safety personnel.

In his conversation, he would not answer straightforwardly when questioned if it was secure to travel by air in the US, and instead made a direct appeal to controllers.

"I require my staff concentrating on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at their households," Duffy stated.

On that day, some planes were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, causing interruption at the fifth-busiest terminal in the country and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as additional travel extending upward to the city of Oakland.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 08:45 local time on Sunday. Many flights were operating normally before noon.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were postponed an average of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the FAA indicated DFW, the second-busiest airfield in the US, could encounter difficulties from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The FAA warned travelers in California to consult carriers about updated flight schedules.

The situation precedes the third match of the World Series, which is due to be played in LA on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak times to fly in the United States.

Pressure on American aviation helped end a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. Back then, the halt had reached its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including pilot training.

It led a number of flight controllers to remain absent on the same day on January 25, 2019, temporarily stopping movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.

That same day, Donald Trump, who at the period was in his initial presidency as leader, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the federal closure after 35 days.