🔗 Share this article

US air traffic controllers are increasingly 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," the official told a news outlet on Sunday, as some flights were halted on the Californian coast due to staffing shortages.

Following the federal closure on October 1st, air traffic controllers, who are considered critical staff, were told to keep doing their jobs uncompensated.

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

Over 3,000 US flights were postponed on the weekend, and Duffy stated he anticipates the circumstances to grow worse.

"I observe the stress," he remarked in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had spoken to several controllers to listen to their concerns firsthand.

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

Duffy added that on Saturday twenty-two notifications at airfields indicated travel would be held up due to a shortage of employees - among the peak since the closure began.

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

Duffy has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would reduce the number of planes in the sky if there is a deficit of safety personnel.

In his interview, he would not answer directly when asked if it was safe to fly in the United States, and instead issued a direct appeal to controllers.

"I need my controllers focused on the airspace, not on the monetary matters at home," Duffy said.

On Sunday, some planes were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, leading to disruption at the fifth most active terminal in the country and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as other flights extending north to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The FAA notice went out at 8:45 AM in the morning on the weekend. Numerous trips were back on schedule by midday.

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were delayed an mean of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the authority indicated Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the US, could encounter problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

The FAA warned travelers in the state to check with carriers about revised departure times.

The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the World Series, which is due to be played in LA on Monday evening, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest periods to fly in the United States.

Pressure on American aviation helped end a government shutdown in 2019. At the time, the halt had reached its fifth week and affected flight services, including aviator instruction.

It prompted a number of flight controllers to remain absent on the same day on January 25, 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, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, bringing an end to the federal closure after thirty-five days.