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American flight controllers are increasingly seeking second jobs and calling in sick, as they continue to work without pay amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has announced.

"These professionals are wearing thin," the official informed a news outlet on Sunday, as certain aircraft were halted on the California shoreline due to staffing shortages.

Following the federal closure on 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were instructed to continue performing their jobs without pay.

But some have been missing, causing terminals to stop or slow their flight operations, which has exacerbated setbacks due to weather and additional factors.

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

"I am seeing the stress," he said in an discussion on a weekend program, adding that he had met with several controllers to hear their concerns directly.

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I drive Uber, am I able to secure another source of earnings to cover expenses?'" he continued.

Duffy added that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airports indicated flights would be held up due to a lack of employees - one of the highest since the closure began.

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

Duffy has consistently cautioned that aviation regulators would reduce the quantity of planes in the sky if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

In his conversation, he would not answer directly when asked if it was secure to fly in the US, and instead made a personal plea to controllers.

"I require my staff focused on the airspace, not on the finances at their households," the official said.

On Sunday, certain flights were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, leading to disruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the nation and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as other flights stretching north to the city of Oakland.

The FAA alert went out at 08:45 local time on the weekend. Many flights were operating normally by midday.

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were delayed an mean of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the FAA indicated DFW, the second-busiest airfield in the US, could experience problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

The agency advised travelers in California to check with airlines about updated departure times.

The situation comes ahead of the third match of the championship, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday night, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving break, among the peak periods to fly in the United States.

Pressure on American aviation helped end a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the halt had entered its fifth week and affected flight services, including aviator instruction.

It prompted several flight controllers to remain absent on the same day on 25 January 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, consented to approve a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the federal closure after thirty-five days.