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American flight controllers are more and more looking for second jobs and reporting ill, as they remain on duty unpaid during the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has stated.

"The controllers are becoming strained," Sean Duffy informed Fox News on Sunday, as some flights were halted on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

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

But some have been absent, leading terminals to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has exacerbated delays due to weather and additional factors.

More than three thousand US flights were postponed on Sunday, and the secretary said he anticipates the circumstances to deteriorate further.

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

"They are pursuing second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I drive Uber, am I able to find an alternative of earnings to make ends meet?'" he continued.

The secretary added that on Saturday 22 alerts at airfields indicated flights would be held up due to a lack of workers - one of the highest after the shutdown started.

The US government shutdown reached its twenty-sixth day on the weekend, making it the second most extended halt in history.

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

In his conversation, he declined to respond directly when questioned if it was secure to fly in the US, and instead made a personal plea to controllers.

"I require my staff focused on the airspace, not on the monetary matters at their households," Duffy stated.

On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at LAX due to staffing shortages, causing disruption at the fifth-busiest terminal in the country and among the most crowded in the world, as well as other flights stretching upward to the metropolis of Oakland.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert was issued at 08:45 in the morning 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 authority indicated DFW, the second most active airport in the country, could encounter problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

The agency warned passengers in California to check with carriers about revised flight schedules.

The issue precedes Game 3 of the World Series, which is due to be played in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break, among the peak periods to travel by air in the US.

Pressure on US air travel contributed to ending a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. Back then, the halt had reached its fifth week and affected airline operations, including aviator instruction.

It prompted several air traffic controllers to remain absent on the identical date on January 25, 2019, briefly halting movement at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

On that date, the former president, who at the period was in his first term as leader, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the federal closure after thirty-five days.