🔗 Share this article

US air traffic controllers are more and more seeking second jobs and reporting ill, as they remain on duty without pay during the federal closure, the transport chief has announced.

"The controllers are becoming strained," the official informed a news outlet on the weekend, as certain aircraft were halted on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

After the federal closure on October 1st, air traffic controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were told to continue performing their jobs uncompensated.

But some have been absent, leading terminals to stop or slow their flight operations, which has exacerbated delays due to climate and other issues.

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

"I observe the pressure," Duffy said in an discussion on a weekend program, adding that he had met with several controllers to listen to their concerns firsthand.

"They are pursuing side jobs, they're out there looking, '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 22 alerts at airports said flights would be delayed due to a shortage of workers - one of the highest since the shutdown started.

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

He has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would slow down the quantity of planes in the air if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

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

"I need my controllers concentrating on the airspace, not on the monetary matters at their households," the official said.

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

The Federal Aviation Administration notice was issued at 08:45 in the morning on the weekend. Many flights were operating normally before noon.

Flights at Newark Airport, though, were delayed an average of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the US, could encounter problems from low staffing later in the day.

The agency advised passengers in the state to check with carriers about revised departure times.

The issue comes ahead of Game 3 of the World Series, which is due to be played in LA on Monday night, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break, among the peak periods to fly in the United States.

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

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

On that date, the former president, who at the time was in his first term as leader, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, bringing an end to the government shutdown after thirty-five days.