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US air traffic controllers are increasingly seeking second jobs and calling in sick, as they continue to work without pay during the government shutdown, the transport chief has announced.

"The controllers 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 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are considered critical staff, were told to continue performing their jobs without pay.

But a number have been absent, leading airports to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has added to delays due to weather and other issues.

More than three thousand American flights were delayed on Sunday, and the secretary stated he expects the circumstances to grow worse.

"I am seeing the pressure," Duffy said in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had spoken to multiple professionals to hear their concerns directly.

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there looking, 'Should I work for Uber, can I secure another source of earnings to make ends meet?'" he continued.

Duffy added that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airfields indicated flights would be held up due to a shortage of workers - among the peak after the shutdown started.

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

He has consistently cautioned that flight authorities would slow down the quantity of aircraft in the sky if there is a shortage of security staff.

In his interview, he declined to respond 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 need my controllers focused on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at home," the official stated.

On that day, certain flights were grounded at LAX due to staffing shortages, leading to disruption at the fifth most active airport in the country and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as additional travel stretching north to the city of Oakland.

The FAA alert went out at 8:45 AM in the morning on Sunday. Many flights were operating normally before noon.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were postponed an average of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the FAA said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the country, could encounter problems from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The FAA warned passengers in the state to check with carriers about updated flight schedules.

The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the World Series, which is due to be played in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest periods to travel by air in the US.

Strain on US air travel helped end a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the halt had entered its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including pilot training.

It led several flight controllers to remain absent on the same day on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.

On that date, Donald Trump, who at the period was in his first term as leader, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the government shutdown after 35 days.