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US air traffic controllers are increasingly seeking second jobs and calling in sick, as they continue to work unpaid during the federal closure, the transportation secretary has announced.

"The controllers are becoming strained," the official told Fox News on Sunday, as some flights were halted on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

Following the government shut down on 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are considered critical staff, were told to keep doing their jobs without pay.

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

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

"I observe the stress," Duffy remarked in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had spoken to 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 find another source of income to cover expenses?'" he continued.

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 started.

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

Duffy has consistently cautioned that aviation regulators would reduce the number of planes in the air if there is a deficit of security staff.

In his conversation, he declined to respond directly when asked if it was safe to travel by air in the US, and instead made a personal plea to controllers.

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

On Sunday, certain flights were grounded at LAX due to staffing shortages, causing interruption at the fifth most active airport in the country and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as additional travel stretching upward to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The FAA alert was issued at 08:45 local time on Sunday. Numerous trips were back on schedule before noon.

Flights at Newark Airport, though, were postponed an mean of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the FAA indicated DFW, the second most active airport in the US, could encounter difficulties from low staffing in the afternoon.

The agency warned travelers in the state to check with carriers about revised flight schedules.

The issue 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 holiday, among the peak times to travel by air in the United States.

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

It led a number of flight controllers to stay home on the identical date on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping travel at New York's LaGuardia airport.

On that date, the former president, who at the time was in his first term as leader, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the federal closure after 35 days.