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American flight controllers are more and more seeking additional employment and calling in sick, as they remain on duty without pay amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has announced.

"The controllers are wearing thin," the official informed a news outlet on Sunday, as some flights were grounded on the Californian coast due to staffing shortages.

Following the federal closure on 1 October, flight controllers, who are considered essential workers, were instructed to keep doing their jobs without pay.

But some have been missing, causing airports to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has added to delays due to weather and other issues.

More than 3,000 US flights were postponed on Sunday, and Duffy said he expects the situation to deteriorate further.

"I am seeing the stress," he remarked in an discussion on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had met with several controllers to listen to their concerns firsthand.

"They are pursuing second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I work for Uber, can I secure another source of earnings to cover expenses?'" he added.

Duffy further mentioned that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airfields indicated flights would be delayed due to a lack of workers - one of the highest after the closure began.

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

He has consistently cautioned that aviation regulators would slow down the quantity of planes in the air if there is a deficit of security staff.

In his interview, he declined to respond straightforwardly when asked if it was secure to travel by air in the US, and instead issued a direct appeal to controllers.

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

On that day, some planes were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, leading to interruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the country and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as additional travel stretching north to the metropolis of Oakland.

The FAA notice went out at 8:45 AM local time on the weekend. Numerous trips were operating normally before noon.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were delayed an average of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the FAA indicated Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the country, could experience problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

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

The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the World Series, which is scheduled in LA on Monday evening, and about one month before the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak times to fly in the US.

Strain on US air travel contributed to ending a federal closure in 2019. Back then, the halt had entered its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.

It led a number of air traffic controllers to stay home on the identical date on 25 January 2019, briefly halting travel at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

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