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American flight controllers are increasingly seeking second jobs and calling in sick, as they remain on duty without pay amid the federal closure, the transportation secretary has stated.

"The controllers are becoming strained," the official informed a news outlet on the weekend, as some flights were grounded on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

Following the government shut down on October 1st, flight controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were told to keep doing their jobs uncompensated.

But some have been absent, causing airports to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated delays caused by weather and additional factors.

More than 3,000 US flights were postponed on the weekend, and Duffy stated he anticipates the situation to deteriorate further.

"I am seeing the stress," he remarked in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had spoken to several controllers to hear their worries firsthand.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I drive Uber, can I find an alternative of earnings to make ends meet?'" he added.

Duffy added that on the previous day 22 alerts at airfields indicated travel would be held up due to a shortage of employees - among the peak since the shutdown began.

The American federal closure reached its twenty-sixth day on Sunday, rendering it the second-longest halt in history.

Duffy has consistently cautioned that flight authorities would slow down the number of planes in the air if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

In his conversation, he declined to respond straightforwardly when asked if it was secure to fly in the US, and instead made a direct appeal to controllers.

"I need my controllers focused on the airspace, not on the finances at home," the official stated.

On that day, some planes were stopped at LAX due to employee deficits, leading to disruption at the fifth most active terminal in the country and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as other flights stretching upward to the city of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 8:45 AM in the morning on Sunday. Many flights were operating normally by midday.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were postponed an mean of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the authority indicated Dallas Fort-Worth, the second-busiest airfield in the country, could experience problems from reduced staff later in the day.

The agency advised passengers in California to check with carriers about updated departure times.

The issue comes ahead of 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, among the peak periods to fly in the United States.

Strain on American aviation contributed to ending a federal closure in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and affected airline operations, including pilot training.

It prompted several air traffic controllers to stay home on the same day on January 25, 2019, briefly halting movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.

That same day, the former president, who at the time was in his first term as leader, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the federal closure after 35 days.