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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 transport chief has announced.

"These professionals are becoming strained," Sean Duffy informed Fox News on the weekend, as certain aircraft were grounded on the Californian coast due to staffing shortages.

After the federal closure on October 1st, flight controllers, who are considered critical staff, were told to continue performing their jobs uncompensated.

But a number have been missing, causing terminals to stop or slow their plane traffic, which has exacerbated delays due to weather and other issues.

Over 3,000 US flights were postponed on Sunday, and the secretary said he anticipates the situation to deteriorate further.

"I observe the stress," he said in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had spoken to several controllers to hear their worries directly.

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I drive Uber, can I secure an alternative of income to make ends meet?'" he continued.

The secretary added that on the previous day 22 alerts at airports said flights would be delayed due to a shortage of employees - among the peak since the shutdown began.

The American federal closure reached its 26th day on Sunday, rendering it the second-longest halt in the past.

He has consistently cautioned that flight authorities would slow down the quantity of aircraft in the air if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

In his interview, he would not answer straightforwardly when questioned if it was secure to travel by air in the United States, and instead made a personal plea to the professionals.

"I need my controllers concentrating on the airspace, not on the finances at their households," the official said.

On Sunday, some planes were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to interruption at the fifth most active terminal in the nation and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as other flights stretching north to the metropolis of Oakland.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 08:45 in the morning on the weekend. Many flights were operating normally by midday.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were postponed an average of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the authority said DFW, the second-busiest airport in the country, could encounter difficulties from low staffing in the afternoon.

The FAA advised travelers in the state to consult airlines about revised flight schedules.

The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the championship, which is scheduled in LA on Monday night, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak times to fly in the United States.

Strain on US air travel contributed to ending a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the halt had reached its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including pilot training.

It led several flight controllers to remain absent on the identical date on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping movement at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

That same day, the former president, who at the period was in his first term as leader, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the federal closure after 35 days.