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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 transport chief has announced.

"The controllers are wearing thin," Sean Duffy told Fox News on the weekend, as certain aircraft were halted on the California shoreline due to staffing shortages.

Following the federal closure on 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are considered critical staff, were told to keep doing their duties without pay.

But some have been absent, leading terminals to stop or slow their plane traffic, which has exacerbated delays caused by climate and other issues.

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

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

"They are pursuing side jobs, they're out there looking, 'Should I work for Uber, am I able to secure another source of earnings to make ends meet?'" he continued.

Duffy added that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airfields indicated flights would be held up due to a lack of employees - among the peak after the shutdown 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 flight authorities would slow down the number of aircraft in the sky if there is a deficit of security staff.

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

"I require my controllers focused on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at their households," the official said.

On Sunday, certain flights were grounded at LAX due to staffing shortages, leading to interruption at the fifth most active airport in the country and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as additional travel extending north to the metropolis of Oakland.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 8:45 AM in the morning on Sunday. Numerous trips were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were postponed an average of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the FAA said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the US, could encounter problems from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The FAA warned passengers in California to consult airlines about revised flight schedules.

The situation comes ahead of the third match of the World Series, which is due to be played in LA on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest periods to travel by air in the United States.

Pressure on American aviation helped end a government shutdown in 2019. At the time, the shutdown 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 movement at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

That same day, the former president, who at the period was in his first term as president, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, bringing an end to the government shutdown after thirty-five days.