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US air traffic controllers are increasingly looking for second jobs and calling in sick, as they continue to work without pay during the federal closure, the transportation secretary has stated.

"The controllers are wearing thin," Sean Duffy informed Fox News on the weekend, as certain aircraft were halted on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

After the federal closure on 1 October, flight controllers, who are considered essential workers, were told to continue performing their duties without pay.

But a number have been missing, leading terminals to stop or slow their flight operations, which has exacerbated setbacks caused by weather and additional factors.

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

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

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there looking, 'Can I drive Uber, can I find an alternative of earnings to make ends meet?'" he added.

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, rendering it the second most extended shutdown in the past.

He has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would slow down the quantity of aircraft in the sky if there is a shortage of security staff.

In his interview, he would not answer directly when questioned if it was secure to travel by air in the US, and instead issued a direct appeal to the professionals.

"I require my staff concentrating on the airspace, not on the monetary matters at home," Duffy stated.

On Sunday, certain flights were grounded at LAX due to employee deficits, leading to interruption at the fifth most active airport in the country and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as other flights extending north to the city of Oakland.

The FAA alert was issued at 08:45 in the morning on Sunday. Many flights were back on schedule by midday.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were postponed an mean of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airport in the US, could experience problems from reduced staff later in the day.

The agency warned passengers in the state to check with airlines about updated departure times.

The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the championship, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday night, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest times to travel by air in the United States.

Pressure on US air travel contributed to ending a federal closure in 2019. Back then, the halt had entered its fifth week and affected airline operations, including aviator instruction.

It led several air traffic controllers to stay home on the identical date on January 25, 2019, briefly halting movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.

On that date, the former president, who at the period was in his first term as president, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, bringing an end to the federal closure after 35 days.