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American flight controllers are more and more seeking additional employment and calling in sick, as they remain on duty without pay amid the federal closure, the transport chief has announced.

"These professionals are wearing thin," Sean Duffy told Fox News on the weekend, as some flights were grounded on the California shoreline due to staffing shortages.

After the federal closure on October 1st, air traffic controllers, who are considered essential workers, were told to keep doing their jobs without pay.

But some have been missing, leading terminals to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated delays due to weather and additional factors.

More than three thousand US flights were delayed on the weekend, and Duffy said he anticipates the situation to grow worse.

"I am seeing the stress," Duffy remarked in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had spoken to multiple professionals to listen to their concerns firsthand.

"They are pursuing side jobs, they're out there looking, 'Can I drive Uber, am I able to secure an alternative of earnings to cover expenses?'" he continued.

Duffy added that on the previous day 22 alerts at airports said travel would be delayed due to a shortage of employees - one of the highest since the shutdown began.

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

He has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would reduce the quantity of aircraft in the air if there is a shortage of security staff.

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

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

On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, causing disruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the country and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as additional travel extending north to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The FAA notice was issued at 8:45 AM local time on Sunday. Numerous trips were operating normally by midday.

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were delayed an average of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the FAA said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second-busiest airport in the US, could experience problems from low staffing later in the day.

The agency warned travelers in California to consult carriers about updated departure times.

The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the championship, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest times to travel by air in the US.

Pressure on American aviation contributed to ending a government shutdown in 2019. Back then, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including aviator instruction.

It led a number of flight controllers to stay home on the identical date on January 25, 2019, temporarily stopping movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.

That same day, the former president, who at the period was in his first term as president, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, bringing an end to the government shutdown after thirty-five days.