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US air traffic controllers are more and more seeking second jobs and calling in sick, as they remain on duty unpaid during the government shutdown, the transport chief has announced.

"These professionals are becoming strained," the official informed a news outlet on Sunday, as certain aircraft were halted on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

Following the federal closure on 1 October, flight controllers, who are considered critical staff, were instructed to keep doing their jobs uncompensated.

But a number have been absent, causing airports to stop or slow their flight operations, which has added to delays caused by climate and other issues.

Over three thousand American flights were delayed on Sunday, and the secretary said he anticipates the situation to deteriorate further.

"I observe the pressure," Duffy remarked in an interview on a weekend program, noting that he had spoken to multiple professionals to hear their worries firsthand.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there looking, 'Can I work for Uber, can I secure an alternative of income to cover expenses?'" he added.

Duffy further mentioned that on Saturday twenty-two notifications at airfields indicated flights would be held up due to a shortage of employees - among the peak since the closure began.

The American federal closure reached its 26th day on the weekend, making it the second most extended shutdown in the past.

He has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would reduce the quantity of planes in the sky if there is a shortage of security staff.

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

"I require my staff concentrating on the flight paths, not on the finances at their households," Duffy said.

On Sunday, some planes were stopped at LAX due to employee deficits, causing disruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the country and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as other flights extending upward to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The FAA alert went out at 08:45 local time on the weekend. Numerous trips were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were postponed an mean of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the US, could experience difficulties from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The agency advised travelers in the state to consult airlines about updated departure times.

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

Pressure on American aviation contributed to ending a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the halt had entered its fifth week and affected flight services, including aviator instruction.

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

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, effectively ending the government shutdown after 35 days.