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American flight controllers are more and more seeking additional employment and calling in sick, as they remain on duty unpaid amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has stated.

"These professionals are becoming strained," the official informed Fox News on the weekend, as some flights were halted on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

After the federal closure on 1 October, flight controllers, who are considered critical staff, were told to continue performing their jobs without pay.

But a number have been missing, leading terminals to stop or slow their plane traffic, which has exacerbated setbacks caused by weather and additional factors.

More than 3,000 US flights were delayed on Sunday, and the secretary said he expects the situation to deteriorate further.

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

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I drive Uber, am I able to secure another source of earnings to make ends meet?'" he added.

The secretary added that on Saturday 22 alerts at airports said flights would be delayed due to a lack of workers - among the peak since the shutdown started.

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

Duffy has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would slow down the number of planes in the sky if there is a shortage of security staff.

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

"I need my controllers focused on the airspace, not on the finances at home," Duffy said.

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 among the most crowded in the globe, as well as additional travel stretching north to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 8:45 AM in the morning on the weekend. 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 FAA said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the US, could encounter difficulties from low staffing in the afternoon.

The agency advised passengers in California to consult carriers about updated flight schedules.

The situation precedes Game 3 of the championship, which is due to be played in LA on Monday night, and about one month before the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak periods to travel by air in the United States.

Pressure on American aviation contributed to ending a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. Back then, the halt had reached its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.

It led a number of air traffic controllers to remain absent on the same day on January 25, 2019, briefly halting travel at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

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