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US air traffic controllers are more and more seeking additional employment and calling in sick, as they continue to work without pay amid the federal closure, the transportation secretary has announced.

"The controllers are wearing thin," the official told Fox News on Sunday, as some flights were grounded on the Californian coast due to staffing shortages.

After the federal closure on 1 October, flight controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were told to continue performing their jobs without pay.

But a number have been missing, causing airports to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has exacerbated delays due to climate and additional factors.

Over 3,000 American 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 a weekend program, noting that he had met with multiple professionals to listen to their worries firsthand.

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

The secretary added that on Saturday twenty-two notifications at airports indicated flights would be delayed due to a lack of employees - among the peak after the closure started.

The US government shutdown reached its twenty-sixth day on Sunday, making it the second-longest halt in history.

He has consistently cautioned that aviation regulators would slow down the number of aircraft in the air if there is a deficit of safety personnel.

In his conversation, he would not answer directly when questioned if it was safe to travel by air in the United States, and instead made a direct appeal to controllers.

"I require my staff concentrating on the airspace, not on the monetary matters at home," Duffy said.

On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, causing interruption at the fifth most active terminal in the country and among the most crowded in the world, as well as other flights stretching north to the city of Oakland.

The Federal Aviation Administration notice went out at 08:45 local time on the weekend. Many flights were back on schedule by midday.

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were postponed an mean of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the authority indicated Dallas Fort-Worth, the second-busiest airport in the US, could encounter difficulties from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The agency warned travelers in California to consult airlines about revised departure times.

The issue comes ahead of Game 3 of the World Series, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday night, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest periods to travel by air in the United States.

Pressure on US air travel contributed to ending a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the halt had entered its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.

It prompted a number of air traffic controllers to stay home on the same day on January 25, 2019, temporarily stopping travel at New York's LaGuardia airport.

On that date, Donald Trump, 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.