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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 during the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has stated.

"The controllers are becoming strained," Sean Duffy told a news outlet on the weekend, as certain aircraft were grounded on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

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

But some have been absent, causing terminals to stop or slow their plane traffic, which has added to delays caused by weather and additional factors.

More than three thousand American flights were postponed on Sunday, and Duffy stated he anticipates the circumstances to deteriorate further.

"I observe the pressure," he said in an interview on a weekend program, adding that he had met with several controllers to hear their worries firsthand.

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

Duffy added that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airfields said flights would be held up due to a shortage of workers - among the peak after the closure began.

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

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

In his interview, he declined to respond directly when asked if it was safe to travel by air in the US, and instead issued a personal plea to controllers.

"I need my staff concentrating on the airspace, not on the monetary matters at their households," the official stated.

On that day, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to interruption at the fifth most active terminal in the nation and one of the busiest in the world, as well as additional travel stretching upward to the city of Oakland.

The FAA notice went out at 8:45 AM in the morning on Sunday. Numerous trips were operating normally by midday.

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were delayed an mean of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the authority indicated Dallas Fort-Worth, the second-busiest airfield in the US, could encounter difficulties from low staffing in the afternoon.

The FAA advised travelers in the state to check with airlines about revised flight schedules.

The issue precedes the third match of the World Series, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest periods to travel by air in the US.

Pressure on US air travel contributed to ending a government shutdown in 2019. At the time, the halt had entered its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including pilot training.

It led a number of air traffic controllers to stay home on the identical date on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping travel at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

On that date, the former president, who at the time was in his initial presidency as leader, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, bringing an end to the federal closure after thirty-five days.