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US air traffic controllers are increasingly seeking additional employment and reporting ill, as they remain on duty without pay during the federal closure, the transportation secretary has announced.

"These professionals are becoming strained," the official told Fox News on the weekend, as certain aircraft were grounded on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

After the federal closure on October 1st, flight controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were instructed to keep doing their jobs uncompensated.

But a number have been missing, causing airports to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated delays due to climate and other issues.

More than three thousand US flights were postponed on the weekend, and Duffy stated he anticipates the situation to deteriorate further.

"I am seeing the pressure," he remarked in an interview on a weekend program, adding that he had spoken to multiple professionals to listen to their worries firsthand.

"They are pursuing second jobs, they're out there looking, 'Should I work for Uber, can I find another source of income to make ends meet?'" he added.

The secretary added that on the previous day 22 alerts at airports said travel would be held up due to a shortage of employees - one of the highest since the shutdown started.

The US government shutdown entered its 26th day on Sunday, making it the second-longest halt in the past.

He has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would slow down the number of aircraft in the air if there is a deficit of security staff.

In his conversation, he would not answer directly when asked if it was secure to fly in the United States, and instead made a direct appeal to the professionals.

"I need my controllers concentrating on the flight paths, not on the finances at home," Duffy stated.

On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to interruption at the fifth most active airport in the nation and among the most crowded in the world, as well as other flights extending north to the city of Oakland, California.

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

Travel at Newark Airport, though, were postponed an mean of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the FAA said DFW, the second most active airport in the US, could experience problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

The FAA advised passengers in California to check with airlines about revised flight schedules.

The issue precedes Game 3 of the World Series, which is scheduled in LA on Monday night, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak times to travel by air in the United States.

Pressure on American aviation helped end a federal closure in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and affected flight services, including pilot training.

It prompted several flight controllers to remain absent on the identical date on January 25, 2019, temporarily stopping movement 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 temporary funding measure, bringing an end to the government shutdown after thirty-five days.