🔗 Share this article

US air traffic controllers are increasingly seeking second jobs and calling in sick, as they remain on duty without pay amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has stated.

"These professionals are wearing thin," Sean Duffy informed a news outlet on Sunday, as some flights were halted on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

After the government shut down on October 1st, air traffic controllers, who are considered critical staff, were told to keep doing their jobs uncompensated.

But a number have been absent, leading terminals to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has added to setbacks caused by climate and other issues.

More than 3,000 US flights were delayed on Sunday, and Duffy stated he anticipates the circumstances to grow worse.

"I am seeing the pressure," Duffy said in an interview on a weekend program, noting that he had met with multiple professionals to listen to their concerns firsthand.

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

Duffy further mentioned that on Saturday 22 alerts at airfields said flights would be delayed due to a shortage of employees - among the peak since the shutdown started.

The American federal closure entered its twenty-sixth day on the weekend, making it the second-longest halt in the past.

Duffy has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would reduce the quantity of planes in the sky if there is a deficit of security staff.

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

"I require my staff concentrating on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at home," the official said.

On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to interruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the country and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as other flights stretching north to the metropolis of Oakland.

The FAA notice was issued at 08:45 in the morning on Sunday. Numerous trips were operating normally by midday.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were postponed an mean of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the FAA said DFW, the second most active airfield in the US, could encounter problems from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The agency advised travelers in California to check with airlines about revised departure times.

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

Strain on American aviation helped end a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. Back then, the halt had entered its fifth week and affected flight services, including aviator instruction.

It prompted a number of air traffic controllers to stay home on the same day on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping travel at New York's LaGuardia airport.

On that date, the former president, who at the time was in his initial presidency as president, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, bringing an end to the federal closure after 35 days.