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US air traffic controllers are increasingly looking for second jobs and calling in sick, as they continue to work without pay amid the federal closure, the transportation secretary has stated.

"The controllers are wearing thin," Sean Duffy told Fox News on Sunday, as some flights were grounded on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

Following the government shut down on October 1st, air traffic controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were instructed to continue performing their duties uncompensated.

But some have been missing, leading airports to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated setbacks caused by climate and additional factors.

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

"I observe the stress," Duffy said in an discussion on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had met with multiple professionals to hear their concerns firsthand.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I work for Uber, am I able to find another source of income to make ends meet?'" he added.

Duffy added that on the previous day 22 alerts at airfields indicated flights would be held up due to a lack of employees - among the peak since the closure started.

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

He has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would slow down the quantity of aircraft in the sky if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

In his conversation, he would not answer straightforwardly when asked if it was safe to travel by air in the US, and instead made a personal plea to controllers.

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

On Sunday, some planes were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, leading to 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.

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

Flights at Newark Airport, however, were delayed an mean of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the authority indicated DFW, the second most active airport in the country, could encounter problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

The FAA advised travelers in the state to consult carriers about revised departure times.

The issue precedes Game 3 of the World Series, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday night, and about one month before the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak times to fly in the US.

Strain on American aviation helped end a government shutdown in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and affected 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 initial presidency as president, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, bringing an end to the government shutdown after 35 days.