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US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for second jobs and calling in sick, as they continue to work unpaid amid the federal closure, the transport chief has announced.

"The controllers are becoming strained," Sean Duffy told a news outlet on Sunday, as certain aircraft were grounded on the California shoreline due to staffing shortages.

Following the government shut down on October 1st, flight controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were instructed to continue performing their duties without pay.

But some have been absent, leading airports to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated delays caused by weather and additional factors.

More than 3,000 American flights were postponed on the weekend, and Duffy stated he anticipates the circumstances to grow worse.

"I am seeing the stress," he said in an discussion on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had spoken to several controllers to hear their worries firsthand.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I drive Uber, am I able to secure another source of income to cover expenses?'" he added.

Duffy added that on the previous day 22 alerts at airfields indicated flights would be delayed due to a lack of workers - among the peak after the shutdown started.

The American federal closure reached its 26th day on the weekend, making it the second-longest shutdown in history.

He has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would reduce the number of aircraft in the sky if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

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 concentrating on the airspace, not on the monetary matters at home," the official said.

On that day, certain flights were grounded at LAX due to employee deficits, leading to interruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the country and among the most crowded in the world, as well as other flights stretching upward to the metropolis of Oakland.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 08:45 local time on Sunday. Many flights were operating normally before noon.

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were postponed an mean of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airport in the country, could encounter problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

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

The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the championship, which is due to be played in LA on Monday night, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving break, among the peak times to travel by air in the US.

Pressure on US air travel helped end a federal closure in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and affected flight services, including aviator instruction.

It led several flight controllers to remain absent on the identical date on 25 January 2019, briefly halting travel 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, bringing an end to the government shutdown after thirty-five days.