🔗 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 government shutdown, the transportation secretary has announced.

"The controllers are becoming strained," Sean Duffy told a news outlet on the weekend, as some flights were halted on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

After the federal closure on 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were instructed to continue performing their jobs without pay.

But some have been absent, causing airports to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated setbacks due to weather and additional factors.

More than 3,000 US flights were delayed on Sunday, and Duffy said he expects the circumstances to deteriorate further.

"I observe the pressure," he remarked in an discussion on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had met with several controllers to hear their worries directly.

"They are pursuing second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I drive Uber, am I able to find an alternative of income to make ends meet?'" he continued.

The secretary added that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airports said travel would be delayed due to a shortage of employees - among the peak after the closure started.

The American federal closure entered its twenty-sixth day on the weekend, making it the second most extended shutdown in history.

He has consistently cautioned that aviation regulators would reduce the number of aircraft in the air if there is a deficit of security staff.

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

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

On Sunday, some planes were stopped at LAX due to staffing shortages, leading to interruption at the fifth most active terminal in the nation and among the most crowded in the world, as well as other flights extending upward to the city of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration notice went out at 08:45 local time on the weekend. Many flights were operating normally by midday.

Flights at Newark Airport, though, were postponed an mean of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the authority said DFW, the second most active airport in the US, could encounter problems from reduced staff later in the day.

The FAA advised passengers in California to consult carriers about revised departure times.

The issue comes ahead of Game 3 of the championship, which is scheduled in LA on Monday evening, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving break, among the peak times to travel by air in the US.

Strain on American aviation helped end a federal closure in 2019. Back then, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and affected airline operations, including pilot training.

It led a number of air traffic controllers to stay home on the same day on January 25, 2019, briefly halting movement at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

That same day, Donald Trump, who at the time was in his first term as president, consented to approve a temporary funding measure, bringing an end to the government shutdown after thirty-five days.