US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for additional employment and calling in sick, as they remain on duty unpaid during the government shutdown, the transport chief has announced.
"These professionals are becoming strained," Sean Duffy told a news outlet on Sunday, as certain aircraft were halted on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.
Following the government shut down on 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are considered essential workers, were told to keep doing their duties without pay.
But some have been absent, leading terminals to stop or slow their flight operations, which has exacerbated setbacks due to weather and other issues.
Over three thousand American flights were postponed on Sunday, and the secretary stated he anticipates the situation to grow worse.
"I observe the stress," he said in an interview on a weekend program, adding that he had met with several controllers to listen to their worries directly.
"They are pursuing side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I drive Uber, can I find another source of earnings to cover expenses?'" he added.
Duffy added that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airfields indicated travel would be delayed due to a lack of workers - one of the highest since the shutdown started.
The American federal closure reached its 26th day on Sunday, making it the second most extended shutdown in history.
He has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would slow down the quantity of aircraft in the sky if there is a shortage of safety personnel.
In his conversation, he would not answer straightforwardly when questioned if it was safe to fly in the US, and instead made a personal plea to the professionals.
"I require my controllers focused on the airspace, not on the monetary matters at home," Duffy stated.
On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, causing disruption at the fifth most active terminal in the nation and among the most crowded in the world, as well as other flights extending north to the metropolis of Oakland, California.
The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 8:45 AM local time on Sunday. Many flights were back on schedule by midday.
Flights at Newark Airport, though, were postponed an average of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second-busiest airport in the country, could experience problems from low staffing later in the day.
The agency advised travelers in the state to check with airlines about revised departure times.
The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the championship, which is due to be played in Los Angeles on Monday night, and about one month before the Thanksgiving break, among the peak times to fly in the United States.
Strain on US air travel contributed to ending a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. Back then, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.
It prompted several flight controllers to stay home on the same day on January 25, 2019, briefly halting travel at New York's LaGuardia airport.
That same day, the former president, who at the time was in his initial presidency as president, consented to approve a temporary funding measure, bringing an end to the government shutdown after 35 days.
