🔗 Share this article

US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for additional employment and calling in sick, as they remain on duty unpaid amid the federal closure, the transportation secretary has stated.

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

After the federal closure on October 1st, flight controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were instructed to continue performing their duties 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.

Over three thousand American flights were delayed on Sunday, and the secretary said he anticipates the circumstances to deteriorate further.

"I am seeing the pressure," he remarked in an interview on a weekend program, adding that he had spoken to several controllers to listen to their worries directly.

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

The secretary further mentioned that on Saturday twenty-two notifications at airports indicated flights would be held up due to a lack of employees - among the peak after the closure began.

The US government shutdown entered its twenty-sixth day on the weekend, rendering it the second-longest halt in history.

He has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would slow down the number of planes in the sky if there is a shortage of security staff.

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

"I require my staff concentrating on the airspace, not on the finances at home," Duffy said.

On that day, certain flights were stopped at LAX due to staffing shortages, causing interruption at the fifth-busiest terminal in the country and one of the busiest in the world, as well as other flights stretching upward to the city of Oakland.

The FAA notice was issued at 8:45 AM in the morning on Sunday. Many flights were operating normally by midday.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were postponed an mean of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the FAA indicated DFW, the second most active airfield in the country, could encounter difficulties from low staffing later in the day.

The agency warned passengers in California to check with airlines about updated departure times.

The situation precedes Game 3 of the championship, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak periods to travel by air in the United States.

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

It prompted a number of flight controllers to remain absent on the same day on 25 January 2019, briefly halting movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.

That same day, the former president, who at the time was in his initial presidency as president, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the government shutdown after thirty-five days.