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American flight controllers are more and more looking for additional employment and reporting ill, as they remain on duty unpaid amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has announced.

"These professionals are wearing thin," the official told a news outlet on the weekend, as some flights were grounded on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

Following the federal closure on 1 October, flight controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were instructed to continue performing their jobs without pay.

But some have been missing, leading airports to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has added to delays due to climate and additional factors.

Over three thousand US flights were postponed on the weekend, and Duffy said he expects the circumstances to grow worse.

"I am seeing the pressure," Duffy remarked in an interview on a weekend program, noting that he had spoken to multiple professionals to listen to their concerns directly.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I work for Uber, am I able to find another source of earnings to cover expenses?'" he continued.

The secretary further mentioned that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airfields indicated travel would be held up due to a lack of workers - one of the highest after the shutdown began.

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

Duffy has consistently cautioned that flight authorities would slow down the number of planes in the sky if there is a shortage of security staff.

In his interview, he would not answer directly when asked if it was secure to fly in the United States, and instead made a personal plea to the professionals.

"I require my controllers focused on the flight paths, not on the finances at home," the official said.

On that day, some planes were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to disruption at the fifth most active airport in the nation and among the most crowded in the world, as well as other flights extending north to the city of Oakland, California.

The FAA alert went out at 8:45 AM in the morning on the weekend. Numerous trips were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were delayed an mean of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the FAA said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second-busiest airport in the country, could experience difficulties from low staffing later in the day.

The FAA warned passengers in California to consult carriers about revised flight schedules.

The situation comes ahead of the third match of the championship, which is due to be played in LA on Monday night, and about one month before the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest periods to fly in the US.

Pressure on US air travel helped end a federal closure in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.

It led a number of air traffic controllers to remain absent on the same day on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping movement at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

That same day, the former president, who at the time was in his first term as president, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the federal closure after thirty-five days.