🔗 Share this article

US air traffic controllers are more and more seeking additional employment and calling in sick, as they remain on duty without pay amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has announced.

"The controllers are becoming strained," Sean Duffy informed Fox News on Sunday, as some flights were halted on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

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

But a number have been absent, causing terminals to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated delays caused by weather and other issues.

Over three thousand American flights were postponed on the weekend, and Duffy stated he anticipates the situation to deteriorate further.

"I observe the pressure," he said in an discussion on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had met with multiple professionals to listen to their concerns directly.

"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 cover expenses?'" he continued.

The secretary further mentioned that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airfields indicated flights would be held up due to a shortage of employees - one of the highest since the closure started.

The American federal closure entered its 26th day on the weekend, making it the second-longest halt in the past.

He has consistently cautioned that flight authorities would slow down the quantity of planes in the air if there is a shortage of security staff.

In his conversation, he would not answer straightforwardly when asked if it was safe to fly in the US, and instead made a direct appeal to the professionals.

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

On that day, some planes were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to interruption at the fifth most active terminal in the country and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as other flights stretching upward to the metropolis of Oakland.

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

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were postponed an average of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second-busiest airport in the US, could encounter problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

The agency warned travelers in California to check with airlines about revised flight schedules.

The situation precedes the third match of the World Series, which is scheduled in LA on Monday night, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest periods to travel by air in the United States.

Strain on US air travel contributed to ending a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including pilot training.

It led several air traffic controllers to stay home on the identical date on January 25, 2019, temporarily stopping travel at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

That same day, Donald Trump, who at the period was in his initial presidency as leader, consented to approve a temporary funding measure, bringing an end to the federal closure after thirty-five days.