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US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for second jobs and calling in sick, as they remain on duty unpaid amid the government shutdown, the transport chief has stated.

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

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

But some have been absent, leading terminals to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has added to delays due to climate and additional factors.

Over three thousand American flights were delayed on Sunday, and the secretary said he expects the situation to deteriorate further.

"I am seeing the stress," Duffy said in an discussion on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had met with multiple professionals to hear their concerns firsthand.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I drive Uber, am I able to find an alternative of income to make ends meet?'" he continued.

Duffy added that on Saturday 22 alerts at airfields indicated flights would be delayed due to a lack of employees - among the peak after the shutdown began.

The American federal closure reached its twenty-sixth day on Sunday, making it the second-longest shutdown in the past.

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

In his interview, he declined to respond directly when questioned if it was secure to fly in the United States, and instead issued a direct appeal to the professionals.

"I require my staff concentrating on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at their households," the official stated.

On Sunday, some planes were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to disruption at the fifth most active terminal in the nation and among the most crowded in the world, as well as other flights stretching upward to the city of Oakland, California.

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

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were delayed an average of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second-busiest airfield in the country, could encounter problems from low staffing later in the day.

The FAA warned travelers in the state to check with airlines about updated departure times.

The situation precedes the third match of the World Series, which is due to be played in Los Angeles on Monday night, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest periods to travel by air in the US.

Pressure on US air travel contributed to ending a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and affected airline operations, including aviator instruction.

It prompted several air traffic controllers to remain absent on the same day on January 25, 2019, briefly halting travel at New York's LaGuardia airport.

On that date, Donald Trump, who at the period was in his first term as president, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the federal closure after thirty-five days.