🔗 Share this article

US air traffic controllers are increasingly looking for additional employment and reporting ill, as they continue to work unpaid amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has announced.

"The controllers are wearing thin," the official informed Fox News on the weekend, as some flights were grounded on the California shoreline due to staffing shortages.

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

But a number have been missing, leading airports to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has added to setbacks caused by weather and additional factors.

Over 3,000 US flights were postponed on Sunday, and Duffy said he expects the circumstances to deteriorate further.

"I am seeing the pressure," Duffy remarked in an discussion on a weekend program, adding that he had met with multiple professionals to hear their worries directly.

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I work for Uber, can I secure an alternative of income to cover expenses?'" he added.

Duffy added that on Saturday twenty-two notifications at airports indicated travel would be held up due to a lack of workers - among the peak since the closure started.

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

Duffy has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would slow down the number of aircraft in the air if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

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

"I need my staff focused on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at home," Duffy stated.

On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, causing disruption at the fifth most active airport in the nation and among the most crowded in the world, as well as other flights stretching upward to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert was issued at 08:45 in the morning on Sunday. Many flights were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Airport, though, were postponed an average of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the FAA indicated DFW, the second-busiest airport in the country, could experience difficulties from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The FAA warned passengers in the state to consult carriers about updated flight schedules.

The situation comes ahead of the third match of the championship, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak times to travel by air in the US.

Pressure on American aviation helped end a federal closure in 2019. At the time, the halt had entered its fifth week and affected airline operations, including pilot training.

It led several flight controllers to stay home on the identical date on 25 January 2019, briefly halting travel at New York's LaGuardia airport.

That same day, the former president, who at the time was in his initial presidency as president, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, bringing an end to the federal closure after thirty-five days.