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US air traffic controllers are more and more seeking second jobs and calling in sick, as they remain on duty unpaid during the federal closure, the transportation secretary has announced.

"These professionals are wearing thin," 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, flight controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were instructed to continue performing their jobs without pay.

But a number have been missing, leading terminals to stop or slow their flight operations, which has added to delays caused by climate and additional factors.

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

"I observe the pressure," he said in an discussion on a weekend program, adding that he had met with multiple professionals to listen to their worries directly.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I work for Uber, am I able to find another source of earnings to cover expenses?'" he continued.

The secretary further mentioned that on the previous day 22 alerts at airfields indicated travel would be held up due to a lack of employees - among the peak after the closure began.

The US government shutdown reached its twenty-sixth day on Sunday, rendering it the second most extended shutdown in history.

He has consistently cautioned that flight authorities would reduce the quantity of planes in the sky if there is a deficit of security staff.

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 controllers.

"I need my controllers focused on the flight paths, not on the finances at their households," the official said.

On that day, some planes were grounded at LAX due to employee deficits, leading to interruption 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 metropolis of Oakland, California.

The FAA alert was issued at 08:45 local time on Sunday. Numerous trips were operating normally by midday.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were delayed an mean of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the FAA indicated DFW, the second-busiest airport in the country, could encounter difficulties from low staffing in the afternoon.

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

The situation precedes Game 3 of the World Series, which is due to be played in Los Angeles on Monday night, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak periods to travel by air in the United States.

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

It prompted several flight controllers to remain absent on the identical date on January 25, 2019, temporarily stopping travel at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

On that date, the former president, who at the time was in his first term as president, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the federal closure after thirty-five days.